Welcome!
Carthago! is a game by G.M., louisxiv just made a site for it.
Carthago! is a game by G.M., louisxiv just made a site for it.
THURSDAY 23rd April ’26
7:45pm for 8:00pm BST
From: Sammus’s Boast:
The night of 29th September passed quietly, and we sailed on the next morning towards Arsinoe through more drizzle but with a favourable wind. That night during red watch a siren was heard, but no-one was lured away. In the morning Si'aspiqo mentioned confidentially that Diophanes spoke with the voice of Zeus to it and this had prevented Amphius from being lured away.
The 1st October had more drizzle with a northerly wind, which soon switched to come from almost directly westwards and the ship sailed east. After a few hours land was spotted and, in the afternoon, we landed safely in the harbour at Arsinoe.
Here Meliton the Greek Merchant the remaining passenger apart from Mago, disembarked and his boxes were unloaded. It was a small but well-established town. I went ashore with Amphius, and we explored a modest and mundane market and then went for some food and wine. I met up with an attractive, dark-haired Greek girl and we soon left Amphius on his own. After a while, I later learnt, he noticed my absence and went looking for me, but, unable to find any trace, he returned to the ship to see if I was there.
After an enjoyable time with the girl whose Greek name I didn’t quite grasp, I awoke in her bed and realized all was dark; it must have been after midnight, and I was probably late returning for my watch. My companion gave me a small candle to light my way and gave me garbled directions in Greek. Unfortunately, the candle soon guttered out, and I realized I must have misunderstood the directions. All was dark and quiet around me, and I had no idea where I was. Surmising that going downhill must lead to the harbour, I tried to follow any paths that led down but was very relieved when I spotted the light of a couple of torches and found that they were being held by my comrades who had come in search of me. Amphius led us back to the ship, where I apologized sheepishly to Diogenes for my tardiness.
We set sail first thing on the morning of 2nd October on a clear sunny day, with a favourable wind, heading for Apollonia, the port of Cyrene.
Party & company:
Met: (named persons)
Places:
Party Loot:
From: Sammus’s Boast:
From the pirates we had the following weapons and armour that might be traded: 15 daggers, 13 light axes, 19 shortswords, 7 longswords, 2 handed bronze two-handed Egyptian axe, 1 bow and quiver, 3 large shields, and a set of well-worn linothorax armour. There was also a ring with a yellowish stone, a silver headband with freshwater pearls, a gold wristband, and several brooch pins, which were thought to be worth about 150gp in total. There was also the magical scarab, which was considerably more valuable.
We set sail towards the Pentapolis on the morning of 23rd September. The Demeter’s Child following the Hippocampus, with Si'aspiqo, Amphius and Mago onboard. The Hippocampus sailed slowly east of northeast, enabling the Demeter’s Child to keep pace. We were now out of sight of land and the Hippocampus tacked east for a while before the wind changed to come from north and we sailed on southwards to the Libyan coast. After about an hour and a half we reached the coast and tacked back and forth, and the wind veered to come from the southwest and we sailed east along the coast looking for vegetation. Soon Toxoanassa spotted a golden beach with a clump of vegetation nearby and the Hippocampus sailed almost into the breakers and dropped anchor and was soon followed by the Demeter’s Child.
Magus thought there should be water there, so Amphius and Toxoanassa went ashore to investigate. They found a small seasonal watercourse, now dry, with green plants stretching inland with multiple abandoned small campsites from different times nearby. They dug down with some driftwood for a couple of feet and found that at this level it was still damp.
Agripinus then went ashore and carried out multiple ceremonies to bring forth water, and the ships had enough water to sail on. During this time, Magus went over to the Demeter’s Child and discussed plans for the loot and where they would sail next with Simos. After a while they shook hands and then, there was an all hands briefing.
We learnt that Simos would take all the weapons and half the silver down the coast to a tribal settlement and trade weapons there before sailing along the coast to Berenica. Hippocampus would take the rest of the loot and make directly for Berenica. My comrades and I were given a choice of which ship to take, and we all decided to remain on the Hippocampus. Soon to our surprise, Diophanes and his equipment were transferred aboard the Hippocampus as he had chosen to sail with us, maybe due to the charms of Toxoanassa I suspected.
The morning of 24th September was cloudy with the first signs that the weather might break. The wind blew from north of west, which was good for Demeter’s Child but not for Hippocampus. Soon after we parted ways, our wind shifted to come from the southwest and we sailed east for the day. It was dark overnight, so the ship just drifted and in the morning the wind blew briskly from just west of north with heavier seas. The wind soon shifted to come from the west and we sailed on east. Si'aspiqo and I spotted one very large fish chasing the prow of the ship, which was soon joined by several more. They were identified as porpoises and they stayed with the ship most of the day and were thought to be a good omen.
The next morning Si'aspiqo reported to Magus about a dream he had had overnight about a battle, but Magus was unconcerned as it seemed far off. Magus felt a change in the air with wetter weather on the way. We sailed on for the day with the wind having shifted favourably from its prevailing direction and we collected some water from the occasional showers.
We sailed on quietly the next day in more damp weather, the only incident of note coming when I nearly fell overboard while relieving myself over the side. I managed to hang on tight until a knotted rope was thrown, and I pulled myself back on board with help from my comrades.
On the morning of 27th September, the wind blew from the northeast, which was the wrong direction, but it soon backed to come from the east and we tacked north. Si'aspiqo used the conch to predict rain was on its way. The magician later saw a dark shape in the water and soon discerned a triangular fin following us. It disappeared and reappeared three times and looked to be a very large shark. Magus thought it was following us and did not think this was a good omen, as he could think of no reason it would be following us. Agripinus wondered about the servants of Melkart being on our trail.
The following morning the wind blew from the southwest and soon there was a cry of land ho! Within an hour Magus reported that the harbour of Berenica was just ahead and was very pleased with his navigation. The harbour here was shallow and difficult to enter but with a favourable wind, we made it safely into harbour at the first of the Pentapolis.
Soon my comrades and I went ashore to investigate. The city was originally called Esperis but had recently been renamed Berenica for the daughter of Magus, King of Cyrene. There was an old part, but the new area of the city was being developed and supervised by Berenica. We could see the new temple of Apollo, which was still under construction. We looked around the market, and Mago found the edible plant silphium, and bought a sack of it. Si'aspiqo found some corners where signs were not in Greek, but he thought in Hebrew, from some sort of Middle eastern cult, near Tyre and southern Lebanon. I found someone to repair my heavy shield. Back on-board ship, I spoke to Diophanes and asked where he was headed. He didn’t seem sure and mentioned following where the winds of fate blew but did mention that he had not been to Scythia.
That night Amphius went to listen to rumours in town and I went with him. We learnt that they were proud of the new temple and that Berenica was the most important person here and was carrying out a vast modernization. Money from the Ptolemys was mentioned and we learnt that King Magus’s wife was from the East, called Apama, but Greek rather than Persian – a Seleucid. Magus was related to Ptolemy. There was some skirting around arguments between Cyrene and Alexandra, but it was said not to be a problem now. Magus had been King for over 10, maybe 15 years and Berenica was in her 20s. She was personally involved in the refurbishment. We returned to the ship quite late after an entertaining evening.
The ship had been reprovisioned and Magus planned to set sail for Arsinoe that morning, 29th September, providing the weather was fair. Si'aspiqo used the conch and thought there would be rain, but no storm. The wind was from the southwest, but it reversed, briefly, while we sailed out of harbour and then swung back to come from the southwest and we sailed along the coast on a grey, drizzly day in poor visibility. We sailed north along the coast, and then slowly turned to the east and hove to at night.
Party & company:
Met: (named persons)
Places:
Party Loot:
Last night I dreamt I went up to the bow again.
There standing the night watch is not my comrade, Amphius of the Night Eyes, but the hero of Zeus, Diophanes. His eyes too show strangeness, and his face is older, purer than the young warrior we see in daylight. I am, for a moment, tongue-tied, struck dumb by the weight of an immortal glance.
“There is something about you I can’t place,” the god-in-Diophanes says, “a perfume of the desert. Strange. Whom do you worship?”
“I pay respect to all the gods.” I reply, truthfully.
The god presses me. “None in particular then?”
“There is one to whom I am bound, obligated. An old god known as Astarte, in an aspect of one imprisoned, ‘Astarte Enchained’. Of the east, I understand.”
The god reflects for a few moments. “Kórē… Kórē… You seek Kórē, or she seeks you. Kórē… My daughter. You were a long way from our temples.”
“I believe she travelled with the Phoenicians, a long time ago. Or the Sumer people long before that.”
“It is a long time ago. But there are islands here where her shrines are remembered. You could seek her. Ask in Crete. Head northwards, if you seek Kórē.”
From: Sammus’s Boast:
Over the next hour, the ships were tied together, and some attention was given to the wounded on both sides. Diophanes stripped off and had buckets of seawater thrown over him until the blood was washed away. His slender form was in marked contrast to my own hulking one and that of many of the larger Libyans. Toxoanassa went pink and found something important to do with her arrow-flights.
Agripinus, with some help from Si'aspiqo, cleaned their wounds and bandaged the wounded Libyans. Shemesh sat down with one of the oldest of the wounded Libyans. He spoke their language, after a fashion anyway, and muttered in Egyptian and Arma with Magus after he had spoken at length with the captive.
Eventually Magus called Agripinus away from his healing, and I overheard some of their conversation. Magus explained that Korna had been elected as the new leader of Macromeda last year in troubled times, with big ideas for change and had refused to pay the annual land-rent to the Libyan chief. Two years were now due, and the Libyans had been sent away with insults. The pirates were the Kekesh and their King Mu’barrak had come to collect the dues. The captive’s name was something like Oh-Ho and he claimed that the King would pay ransom for his people and his galleys. They were the East watch, and other ships were the West watch. Oh-Ho had agreed that we had won a fair fight and were different to the slippery Punic Macromedans. He had and said he could go and speak for us with Mu’barrak.
Shemesh had said that the Macromedans were due to pay the Kekesh 5 silver talents per year, so Korna had gone to war for 10 silver talents or 1,000 gold pieces from the Carthaginian mint, which was just a handful of silver per household – madness exclaimed Magus!
Magus thought we had three roads at this junction: we could deal with Mu’barrak; we could try and rescue Macromeda; we could sail away. He saw the eyes of the Gods were on us, so all our choices led to a hard road though a valley of shadow. It was hard to see the best road from here, so he wanted to hear what council we had to offer? We discussed the options without coming to a clear conclusion about what road was best but agreed that the first step would be to try to ransom the ships and pirates to Mu’barrak.
The coast was about a mile away and Macromeda was a little farther off to the west. Hippocampus could tow a galley, but the Demeter’s Child would struggle with the restricted amount of sail that could be put on their jury-rigged mast. Shemesh said that Oh-Ho had suggested putting him on shore and he would walk to Mu’barrak’s camp. Mu’barrak would then either come himself or send an emissary to talk to us. If he didn’t come back, he suggested we could kill the remaining Libyans including his own cousin.
The Hippocampus sailed closer into the shore and anchored. Oh-Ho was rowed ashore in a small boat. He would be at Macromeda in the afternoon. Magus told him we would wait until noon the following day. The three galleys were anchored close in to shore one by one. One of the galleys ran aground but was eventually freed. The remaining Libyans were put on one of them, about half a dozen of them had surrendered while on their feet, but the others had all been wounded. The Hippocampus and the Demeter’s Child anchored nearby.
Amphius spoke to Diophanes, who called the pirates plucky barbarians. He told Amphius that he didn’t smell battle in the air. He explained that he was an orphan from the hills north of Athens, where he had been brought up in the temple, where there was a shrine to Zeus.
The galleys had been looted and any weapons and armour piled up on the Hippocampus. There was quite a lot of bronze armour, which unlike iron would not rust. There was one set of linothorax armour which had belonged to Oh-Ho. The miscellaneous shields and weapons we were not interested in were transferred to one of the galleys, but we kept the better weapons to trade.
In the evening a group bearing torches approached the shoreline. Magus, Shemesh, Agripinus and Amphius rowed ashore to meet them and then Amphius and Shemesh had returned. They reported that Magus and Agripinus had gone to meet with Mu’barrak. His emissary had confirmed that Agripinus was from the White City, or Carthage, and not allied to Macromeda. Mu’barrak did not make war on the White City. Amphius and Shemesh then rowed back to the shore to await the return of Magus and Agripinus.
When Magus and Agripinus returned they told us they had seen the Kekesh and met with Mu’barrak. He was a man of similar build and strength to me. Agripinus had agreed to treat the captives and hand them and the ships over for 7 talents of silver and a barrel of fresh water. While in the Kekesh camp Agripinus had seen they made use of chariots, now seen as obsolete in Carthage, and guessed that there were between 1,000 and 5,000 men in the camp. As the siege was ongoing, there may well have been more troops deployed outside of the camp. The ships had been seen as much more valuable than the captured pirates. Part of the agreement that was reached was that we should sail east from here and not return for at least a moon.
Overnight Agripinus worked on redoing bandages on the wounded Libyans as agreed and Si'aspiqo put the most seriously wounded into a dream sleep. Overnight the wind had freshened and now came from the southwest, a much warmer wind that was set fair for the Pentapolis. An hour after dawn, some chariots and a company of 100 Libyans appeared close to the shore and two or three came right down and stood by the shoreline. The same herald as before had a small, vaguely Greek chest held by two poles fed through loops. There were also three large waterbags with a pole through the top so that each could be carried by two men.
Agripinus agreed to stay on shore to show good faith, while the Libyans and the three galleys were handed over and then the chest and water were rowed to the Hippocampus, and the galleys were rowed off to Macromeda. The wounded were left on the shore. The herald stated that there was peace between us and the Kekesh but again confirmed that we were not to return here for a moon and Agripinus agreed. The herald emphasized that the Kekesh were not at war with the White City.
The chest was full of coins and hack silver including some remelted bars, but Mago was not impressed with the silver quantity of much of it. When Si'aspiqo looked through the loot he noticed that it included a scarab which he thought had power. He reported this to Magus, who agreed that Si'aspiqo could examine it first. We set sail towards the Pentapolis.
Party & company:
Met: (named persons)
Places:
Party Loot:
I set as the era the year of the accession of the Pharaoh Ptolemy II, son of Ptolemy, so we begin in the year 18 of that reign, and I use a simplified system of twelve months with no regard for the multiple systems of intercalary days, weeks, months or moons of our own various cultures nor those we have passed through. I shall use the month names used by the main story-teller, a Gaul, Sammus the Strong, but number them to disambiguate their order.
–Si'aspiqo