Part 15 (1/2)

This time even the combined voices of Odysseus and Eperitus could not drag the men back to their seats, as each warrior moved to the prow to gaze in stunned awe at the great armada before them. The whole bay was filled with wars.h.i.+ps, their black hulls anch.o.r.ed so closely together that a man could almost walk from one sh.o.r.eline to the other.

'Zeus's beard,' Menelaus whispered, his eyes filling with tears.

'There must be hundreds of them,' exclaimed Eurybates.

'It's just as I saw in my dream,' Calchas added, standing with the others and surveying the forest of masts.

'Look at the hillsides,' Eperitus said. 'All those tents. There must be thousands of soldiers up there.'

'Tens of thousands,' Odysseus corrected. 'And look! There're the dolphin sails of Ithaca. Bring in the sail!'

A great cheer greeted them as Odysseus steered the s.h.i.+p into a gap between the other eleven galleys of the Ithacan fleet. Men flooded out from the camp on the hillside, rus.h.i.+ng down to the sandy beach where the beak of the s.h.i.+p slid to a halt. Suddenly men were leaping down from the sides of the galley and das.h.i.+ng through the knee-deep water to greet their comrades.

As Odysseus and Eperitus waded through the surf to the sh.o.r.e their countrymen cheering them and slapping their shoulders as they pa.s.sed they saw Eurylochus waiting beneath the shade of a sycamore tree. He was pink with the heat of the late-spring day, and his fat jowls and forehead glistened with a film of sweat.

'Thank the G.o.ds you've returned,' he said, embracing his cousin and ignoring Eperitus. 'It's been five weeks since you left for Troy we were beginning to fear the worst.'

'It's simply a long way,' Odysseus answered, sitting down against the broad trunk of the tree and accepting a krater of wine from a soldier. 'Has much happened in our absence?'

Eurylochus pointed to the s.h.i.+ps in the bay. 'Only the gathering of the greatest fleet of s.h.i.+ps in history! We were almost the first only King Nestor of Pylos was here before us and there's hardly been a day since that some contingent or other hasn't swelled our numbers. And you should see the men who've come! More warriors than I've ever seen before, and all the great oath-takers are among them. Great Ajax is here, with Little Ajax and Teucer, of course. Diomedes arrived last week, bringing Sthenelaus and Euryalus the Argonaut with him. Idomeneus alone brought eighty s.h.i.+ps from Crete! Then there's Menestheus, Tlepolemos . . .'

'What about Achilles?' asked Palamedes, striding confidently up the beach with Menelaus. He had been a subdued presence during the voyage from Troy even though Odysseus had made no mention of the events in Priam's throne room, realizing that the Nauplian had been acting under Agamemnon's orders but seemed to be rapidly regaining his old arrogance and self-importance now that he was back on land.

'Not yet,' Eurylochus replied, giving Palamedes an equally haughty stare. 'And n.o.body knows where he is. Some say he is in hiding, but others say he didn't take the oath so isn't under any obligation.'

'They're wrong on that point,' said Menelaus. 'His cousin Patroclus took the oath on his behalf.'

'And if the rumours about him are true, he'd come whether he was bound to or not,' Eperitus added. 'One thing's for certain: he won't be hiding.'

'We'll see about that,' Odysseus said, shutting his eyes and resting his head against the gnarled bark. 'Is my tent ready, Eurylochus? And how about something to eat for Menelaus, Eperitus and myself not forgetting Palamedes, of course?'

'We've just sacrificed a goat. It'll be cooked by the time you've washed the brine from your limbs and changed your clothes.'

'We'll refrain,' Menelaus said, though the smell of meat roasting over a nearby fire brought the saliva flooding into his mouth. 'I have to find my brother and let him know we're back. Where's his camp, Eurylochus?'

'On the highest point overlooking the bay you can see his banner on the hillside, up there.'

'And don't be long yourself, Odysseus,' Menelaus called over his shoulder, as he and Palamedes headed towards a path that led up the wooded hillside beyond the beach. 'He'll want to speak to you, too, no doubt.'

Odysseus simply shut his eyes and thought of a plate of freshly roasted goats' meat.

News of the return from Troy spread rapidly and soon the Ithacan camp was besieged by soldiers from every state in Greece, seeking information about the Trojans and their fabled city. As the different Greek armies had spent the previous weeks practising their drills and tactics alongside or against each other, many of the men were greeted as friends and encouraged to share the Ithacans' food and wine. And thus the rumours grew of the una.s.sailable walls of Troy, with its beetling towers and vast armies, and of the great riches that lay within for any who could raze it to the ground.

Before long, Agamemnon's squire, Talthybius, arrived at the camp with a summons for Odysseus and Eperitus. They were to leave their weapons behind and come to a council of the Greek kings, where the news from Troy was to be discussed and decisions made on what action to take. Odysseus asked Calchas, who had remained with the Ithacans, to come with them.

The path up the hillside was a steep one, but by now it was late afternoon and the heat of the day could no longer be felt under the dense canopy of trees, where the air was cool and fresh with the smell of pine. This made for a pleasant walk, though Eperitus quickly found Calchas's company irksome: he often fell behind, and when they waited for him to catch up he would mutter endlessly under his breath. Before long they could smell the smoke from numerous cooking fires, drifting down the hill from the main camp above, and almost taste the roast pork on their tongues. A hubbub of conversation followed it, growing steadily louder until the woodland gloom gave way to patches of slanted light and, suddenly, they were free of the trees and standing atop a high, rocky plateau with a marvellous view of the vast fleet below them to their right. Even Talthybius, who had seen the sight many times by now, had to stop and admire the black silhouettes of the s.h.i.+ps floating like coals on a sea of fire. In the west the sky was a brilliant, unblemished sheet of copper, glowing fiercely in the light of the bloated, dying sun. Beneath it, stretching over the boulder-strewn hilltop, were hundreds upon hundreds of white tents, reminding Eperitus of the flocks of seabirds that would gather on the craggy cliff faces of Ithaca. They snapped and fluttered in the wind, as did the flags and pennants of the many different kings that streamed out above them.

'This way, my lords,' said Talthybius, leading them down an avenue that drove through the middle of the canvas city.

There were soldiers everywhere. Some wore armour, though most did not, and all carried weapons of some kind spears over their shoulders or swords hanging from baldrics or tucked into their belts. The majority were cooking or eating, though some were busily burnis.h.i.+ng their bronze armour to a high sheen, or drawing whetstones up and down blades to sharpen them to a deadly edge. Occasionally, the laughter or cry of a woman indicated that prost.i.tutes were plying their trade amongst the army.

Talthybius, however, did not take them deeper into the camp as they had expected, but suddenly led them down another wide avenue that went back towards the straits. As they were pa.s.sing a crescent of large tents, Eteoneus, the squire of Menelaus, emerged, followed by three others.

'Odysseus?' said one of the men. 'Odysseus, is that you?'

Odysseus turned to see a tall man of thirty years or so, athletically built and dressed in a grey tunic and dark green cloak. His long, auburn hair was pulled back over his scalp and tied at the nape of his neck, revealing a handsome and intelligent face. Despite the fact that he wore no armour and did not carry any weapons, the brown scar across his clean-shaven cheek marked him as an experienced warrior.

'Diomedes!' Odysseus exclaimed, breaking into a broad smile. He seized the man's hand and pulled him into a fierce embrace, which they held for a long time as they thumped each other's backs and exchanged friendly greetings.

'I hear you and Menelaus have been in Troy, talking peace and other such nonsense,' said the king of the Argives. 'Tell me you failed!'

'You'll hear my report when I give it to the council you're heading there, too, I a.s.sume. Have you been in this place long? What's the hunting like?'

'Good plenty of woodland beyond the camp, full of deer. But stop trying to change the subject. Tell me about Troy what's it like? Will we take it at the first a.s.sault, or is Priam going to put up a fight?'

'Forget Priam. It's his son, Hector, we need to worry about. Anyway, you'll have to wait until . . .'

'And what about Helen?' Diomedes continued, his voice a.s.suming a more serious tone. 'Did you see her?'

Diomedes had lost his heart to Helen when he first set eyes on her ten years before, and despite taking a wife since then it was clear he still loved her.

'No, Diomedes, I didn't see her. Now, will you stop heaping questions on me and introduce your companions?'

Diomedes gave an apologetic nod and stepped between the two men, placing a hand on each of their shoulders.

'This is my friend, Sthenelaus, son of Capaneus,' he began, indicating the man to his right. 'We sacked the city of Thebes together in vengeance for our fathers, and now I've asked him to rule the Argive army in my place, if I should fall.'

Sthenelaus's hair was a ma.s.s of black curls and his thick beard covered half of his hardened, bitter-looking face. He gave a curt nod in response to Odysseus's smile.

'And this is Euryalus the Argonaut, son of Mecisteus. He was also with us when we conquered Thebes.'

Euryalus was a small man, several years older than his companions, with long, white hair and a closely cropped beard. His red face broke into a pleasant smile as he shook Odysseus's hand.

'You remember Eperitus, captain of my royal guard,' Odysseus said, turning back to Diomedes.

'Glad you're with us, Eperitus,' Diomedes said, taking his hand. 'And your other companion?'

'I'm afraid that introduction will have to wait until the council,' Odysseus said. 'And we shouldn't keep our royal comrades waiting any longer. Talthybius?'

The Mycenaean herald, who had been talking patiently to Eteoneus, gave a small bow before turning and leading the way through the field of flapping canvas. Diomedes walked beside Odysseus and threw a muscle-bound arm about his shoulders.

'So, I hear you're a king now. You look like it, too: majestic appearance, powerful bearing, grey hair . . .'

'Thanks. I wish I could say the same for you, but you look as young and handsome as you did ten years ago.'

'Listen, have you spoken to Agamemnon yet?' Diomedes asked, lowering his voice confidentially.