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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 21th May ’26
7:45pm for 8:00pm BST
From: Sammus’s Boast:
In the morning Magus called for an all-hands meeting. He told everyone he was going to sell the cargo and plunder here. We had faced a test of courage; every man and woman had done their duty, and all would receive 10gp on top of their pay. There might be more to come after the trading. We would be in harbour for around ten days and as this was a safe place, there would be double liberty, enjoy yourselves but stay out of trouble he ended, and I noticed some glances in my direction as well as others. The crew all cheered. Amphius bought the shortsword from the sea dead for 3gp and I bought a gold band for 10gp and some of my comrades bought other items.
Mago, Toxoanassa and I went to the market in the morning. Mago tried to sell some ivory along with the teeth of the Ketos but found little interest. Toxoanassa found a striped hide with a horn, which were claimed by the owner to be those of a unicorn, the horn seemed fake and she refused to pay the 50gp demanded. Mago beat the seller down to 20gp for the hide and then sold it on to Toxoanassa for 25gp. Out of the corner of my eye on a street corner, I spotted something sparkling, and found a small gold earring, which I pocketed after looking around to see if anyone had dropped it and not seeing anyone. We returned to the ship.
In the afternoon Agripinus looked round the market with Amphius. He bought some silver goblets. They were nicely made with Greek scenes on them, for 40gp. He didn’t haggle and the owner asked if he wanted to commission something. He said he was interested in jewelry and the silversmith showed him some bangles of different styles and sizes, and then suggested if he wanted something more expensive he might find that in Cyrene, and then he showed him to a goldsmith, who had gold earrings, rings and a gold cup, but he didn’t buy anything else. Agripinus noticed that the non-Greek quarter of the population were starting to celebrate a foreign festival.
Mago found a stallholder of silphium resin, sterling aphrodisiac. For 120gp each, Mago and Agripinus bought silphium for different usages: aphrodisiac potions in small glass bottles; silphium powder in sealed wooden boxes of wood; paste used for healing poultices in jars. Mago described the roots of silphium that he had bought in Berenica, but the stallholder explained that it grew here and was used for culinary purposes, so he wasn’t interested in buying any. It was traded from here to the Greek islands. Amphius looked for weapons, but the only unusual thing was a battering ram. He then led the others back to the ship at end of the afternoon.
Toxoanassa and Si'aspiqo stayed on board for the evening with Magus and Diophanes, while the rest of us went ashore for the evening. Diophanes and Toxoanassa watched the sunset together and spent some time in quiet conversation with Diophanes, before she retired to her cabin.
Amphius led us to one of the finer establishments in Apollonia. Amphius and I had lots of good quality, strong wine and some excellent food. Agripinus took charge of the return to the ship as Amphius was drunk but led us astray. Amphius struggled to convince him to go in the correct direction and we ended up at the mole and the harbour wall where we were met by some guards. Agripinus spoke to their captain and a couple of guards showed us the way through the waterfront back to the ship.
During the evening Mago had noticed a couple of Greeks, who looked out of place. He thought they were carrying out some kind of dodgy deal, but he decided not to intervene or follow up. Agripinus spoke to one of the other customers at the restaurant, who told him that the great Greek philosopher Hegesias, was giving three days of lectures in Cyrene starting the following day. The man was disappointed that he was unable to attend.
The next morning Agripinus left at dawn with Amphius, Mago and Diophanes to head to Cyrene. Diophanes wanted to go to the great Temple of Zeus and Amphius and Mago planned to investigate the markets. Agripinus sat next to the driver at the front of a cart, while Amphius and Mago sat in the back, while Diophanes walked alongside. After about three hours they reached the large city of Cyrene. The cart took them to the marketplace, and the driver took them to the agora, where Diophanes left them to find the temple of Zeus which was a large and easy to spot building. Agripinus asked some locals and was pointed to the school of philosophy. As he walked through the city, he realized that this was the largest place he had been to, apart from Carthage.
As Mago and Amphius explored the market, they had to dodge a bullock that got loose. They learnt that today was the second day of celebration for Sukkot, a Hebrew festival. Someone tried to sell Mago a scarab for 20gp, but he thought it was just a carved piece of stone of no value and declined. Amphius asked about fine weapons and was directed to the acropolis and given a name.
Amphius went in search of an inn. He found an expensive place with rooms and just before dusk Agripinus and Mago met up with Amphius and made their way to the Inn for the evening. Agripinus told the others that Hegesias had spoken complicated Greek, but he had managed to follow with help with some of the words, and he had had some interesting ideas. He had a different perspective of the world, which Agripinus found thought provoking.
The food at the inn was very high quality, particularly the suckling pig, the wine was excellent, and Amphius and Mago got very drunk indeed. A group of young men were celebrating and singing raucously, in the inn and Agripinus heard wagers in gold pieces across the table. The barmaids were having a hard time, with some of the twelve of them. Agripinus realised that it was a stag night for Eumenes and he and his companions were invited to toast the bravery of Eumenes and the beauty of Zoe. One of them called rudely for Amphius to remove his hat and although it was quite bright, he did so. They then they asked what was up with his eyes, calling him retard eyes. Amphius told them that he had hurt them, but it was a long story. When they pressed him, he mentioned a long journey and earthblood, and they thought he was talking about booze. Amphius bought them a drink, and they moved on to being rude to Mago. When he told them he was from the Balearics, they wondered what a balearic was, then insulted the place and then started singing at him. By this time Amphius and Mago were plastered and just slumped in the corner. I would not have been so peaceful.
The rowdy youths then turned on Agripinus saying that he wasn’t from round there. Agripinus told them he was from Carthage and one of them thought that maybe they were at war with the Punicians, but someone explained that it was the Syracusans, although they were Greeks. Agripinus tried to smooth things over by buying them drinks, but they asked if he liked war and wondered whether he was a coward, running away.
Agripinus got the waitress to bring another pitcher of wine and had a drink with them, although he surreptitiously poured much of his own wine away. He then gave some more coin to the waitress and explained to the celebrants that he needed to make sure his friends got to their bed, but to have another drink on him. With some difficulty he managed to drag Mago, who was completely unconscious, to the bottom of the stairs. The men tried to persuade Amphius to play a game of dice, but he too had passed out.
Agripinus managed to get Mago up the stairs and dump him onto a bed. He then returned for Amphius. The bar was now quiet and Amphius was slumped in a corner. Six of the Greeks were slumped either in chairs or on the floor and the other six were talking to a slim youth with a bundle. Some of the drunks tried to rush him, but the slim Greek laid him out and easily slipped a blow from another. One pulled a knife and Diophanes, for he was the slim youth, pulled a shortsword from his bundle and held it to the man’s throat. He told them that:
“You should learn better manners - toffs or not, I’m faster than you’ll ever live to be”.
The rowdy Greeks were muttering but went quiet when Diophanes looked at them and he then put his sword back in bundle of cloth. He helped Agripinus to carry Amphius back to the room and then went quietly back down the stairs, while Agripinus put Amphius and Mago in the recovery position and made sure there was plenty of water.
When Agripinus followed Diophanes downstairs, Diophanes was lounging against the wall at the bottom of the stairs, and the bar was nearly empty – the stag party had left. There was one man on his own and he gave Agripinus and Diophanes a slow round of applause, saying well done. He told them he could use men with grit like that, asked them to sit down and join him in a drink and introduced himself as Ajax, Guardian of the Citadel, and a Silver Spear of King Magus.
The large, burly Greek, ordered some light refreshments and the barmaid returned with light wine, water and grapes. Agripinus gave his name, explained he was from Carthage and that he and his comrades were travelling and trading. When asked what he did in Carthage he said he was a soldier. Ajax apologized for the youths, explaining that they were an embarrassment to the city. When Ajax questioned Diophanes, he explained that he was the herald of Zeus and followed a path inspired by Zeus. Ajax wondered if they were looking for a job and Agripinus declined, explaining that they were travelling to Egypt. Ajax was disappointed as he was always on the lookout for capable men but did not press Agripinus further.
Agripinus asked for any news and Ajax discussed the war in Syracuse, where the locals had joined force with the Romans, who he called a violent outfit. He also told Agripinus that there was a lot of naval movement in the islands north of Crete, but that this involved Ptolemy and not Cyrene, adding that it had been quiet here since Magus came to terms with Ptolemy, 15 years ago.
Ajax ordered some honeyed pastries and explained that he was based in the citadel, but liked to go into the interior to investigate, when he had time, and was looking for people to go with him. Agripinus told him a little about our journey to the Red Dune and back. They all parted as friends.
In morning Agripinus was fine, and Mago wasn’t much the worse for wear, but Amphius had an appalling hangover and spent the morning at the gymnasium to have a bath and recuperate. Mago went to the market, Agripinus headed off to more lectures and Diophanes headed to the temple of Zeus.
That morning I walked to Cyrene which took about three hours and then made my way to the market, where I bumped into Amphius. We went for lunch and waited for Mago, but there was no sign of him. Amphius filled me in on the previous evening’s events as already reported.
I waited while Amphius looked around market for Mago and then checked the temples of Apollo and Zeus but found no sign of him and returned to me. Next, we searched the city together for any sign of him. We found some unusual shops, including one with lots of scrolls in Greek, mainly new stories or mythology, but Amphius got the name of the stallholder for Si'aspiqo. There was another stall with bronze tableware and another with lady’s perfume. A man matching Mago’s description had been there that morning. We carried on searching and found the hippodrome, the theatre, the impressive acropolis and the guarded palace, the temple of Apollo and even the necropolis, a quiet place full of graves, but unusually within the city walls; there was no sign of Mago anywhere.
We returned to the inn where we were joined by Agripinus and waited for Mago. We had started on a fish course, when two soldiers came in with an officer, who looked around and then said he was looking for Agripinus. The priest waved a hand. The officer explained that it was a matter relevant to the security of the city, and he asked Agripinus his profession, Agripinus said he was a soldier and when pressed added that he was a priest and then admitted that he was missing one of his companions, Mago. The officer said that he was the reason he was there. Mago had given a story as to why he wasn’t a foreign spy, when he had tried to get into palace, explaining that he had got lost, tried to wander in through the gate, and had been arrested when he had tried to get into the palace.
Proculus, the officer, took Agripinus up to the acropolis to the side of a citadel, where there was a small entrance into a courtyard with guard niches. He collected Mago, and we were all back in the inn by 8 in the evening, where we resumed our light meal and had a much quieter night.
Mago explained that he had seen a sign for tutoring slaves and had paid for one for the next day, called Zeno. The slave could be purchased outright for 200gp. He had looked at various stalls in the market and had bought a very nicely made walking stick, topped in ivory with a ring of gold beneath for 20gp. He had left it with the owner to shorten it slightly and to carve the Greek letters for his name for a further 1gp. He had wandered inadvertently into the citadel without seeing the guards.
The next morning Zeno, the slave, arrived with a minder and was introduced to Agripinus. He was older than any of us except Si'aspiqo, well-educated and spoke excellent Greek, although he looked slightly eastern, and was from Pergamon. The three of them left to attend the day’s lectures.
Mago collected his cane and then the three of us went to look at weapons and armour. We saw a variety of Greek patterned swords and daggers. They were mainly brand new, although some had been nicely refurbished, and some were inlaid with gold. Some of the scabbards were very ornate. A couple of the blades seemed very well balanced, but none were as good as mine. Mago bought a well-balanced dagger. When Amphius mentioned weapons that might bite on the sea dead, the craftsman suggested going to the temple to get weapons blessed. We looked at armour too but did not buy anything.
We all met again in the evening. Agripinus thought Hegesias’s strange philosophies very different to Tanit, and possibly dangerous. He had understood it, but it wouldn’t sway him, from his following of Tanit. We had another quiet night and returned to the ship in the morning.
Party & company:
Met: (named persons)
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From: Sammus’s Boast:
The 2nd October started with drizzle, but soon we had a sunny day with a favourable wind, as we sailed towards Apollonia. In the afternoon we saw a school of small whales, which the sailors called Ziphius. Magus said that these were Poseidon’s own livestock and therefore a good omen. The coast was in sight by dusk, and he hoped we might reach Apollonia the next day. We sailed on slowly overnight as it was a just few days from the full moon.
During the first part of the night, I was awoken from dreams, where I thought I heard someone calling for Diophanes. As I headed up on deck, I saw him just ahead of me also hurrying on to the deck and Si'aspiqo following close behind me. I could smell the sea and seaweed strongly and there was a cool sea mist now gradually dissipating. We found the rest of the party in the prow, sweeping some stinking seaweed over the side. I learnt that just before midnight, the wind had died away and a cold mist had descended over the ship, muffling sound. Magus had ordered the sails taken in, as the fog was too thick to see the length of the ship, let alone sail on.
On watch in the prow, Toxoanassa and Amphius had felt the hairs on their necks rise as two undead climbed onto the ship and had attacked them. Toxoanassa had shot several arrows without effect, for it seemed that normal iron would not bite their undead flesh. After a moment frozen in fear, Amphius had snatched out his Spartan blade of cold steel and had struck at the undead as more had climbed aboard behind the first wave. The stench of rotting seaweed had been rank, but their cries of alarm had been muffled in the eerie mist, and no-one had come swiftly to their aid. In the stern, Agripinus hearing the faint cry of a woman had warned Magus that a Siren was calling from the mist, before marching towards the stern with Mago close behind covering his ears. Out of the mist an undead warrior had loomed and struck at Agripinus, but Mago had slipped behind it and stabbed it with his Egyptian dagger. It had struck home, as it too is cold steel from long ago. Agripinus had flourished his holy symbol and had called on the grace of Tanit to send the evil dead back to the Deep. The undead had quailed before his holy words, some jumping over the side and one collapsing into a pile of rotten bones and seaweed.
And so, the attack had been repelled, and Amphius found only a decent quality, very slightly rusty shortword and two daggers amongst the weed.
When the sea mist dispersed, all we could see around us was the sea, with no sign of where the undead may have come from other than the depths. Diophanes called them the sea dead and said they were not from the underworld but from the deep sea. The rest of the crew arrived at the prow and were happy that the incursion had been dealt with. They helped sweep the remaining rotten seaweed back into the sea. The rest of the night was uneventful.
The next morning, 3rd October, saw thin clouds and sunshine, with a fair wind from the southwest. We sailed along the coast and in the mid-afternoon Magus pointed out a lighthouse that marked the harbour of Apollonia ahead. The wind backed to come from the northeast as we neared Apollonia, and we were able to sail straight into the outer harbour. Apollonia was a large town with some substantial buildings. Magus chatted to an official and just before dusk we rowed through a channel into the inner harbour and moored at one of the quays on the south side of the inner harbour. The channel was lined with a wall on one side and several small towers on the other and there was a wall all around the outer harbour. There were military slipways to the west of the inner harbour, more slipways to the north as well as the commercial quays to the south where we moored. Apollonia was the harbour for Cyrene, which was about 10 miles inland and it seemed to be a busy commercial port.
Magus hoped to sell some cargo here if he could get a good deal on things to trade on in Alexandria, but it would depend on the market tomorrow. We might be here for a week if he traded or just a couple of days if we sailed straight on. He spoke confidentially to Agripinus and Si'aspiqo about the scarab from the pirate loot, telling them that Ptolemy wanted things like that in Alexandria. Giving it to him would be a big gift and he would give something valuable in return to show his worth.
He added that Magus was King here, a Macedonian, and that he would also like that sort of thing so we had a choice – we could gain the favour of either Ptolemy or Magus. Captain Magus also mentioned that Magus had become king of Cyrene sometime after the disgraceful murder of his predecessor Ophellas, who was killed by Agathocles the Tyrant of Syracuse some 40 years ago during his war with Carthage.
Magus and Toxoanassa stayed on board for the evening, but I went with my other companions into the town and headed down the main street, looking for a suitable place to have a meal. Amphius soon found somewhere suitable.
We enjoyed a tasty feast with decent wine and delicious, freshly baked bread. We spent the evening listening to rumours :
Party & company:
Met: (named persons)
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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)
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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