The Pillar Quest (pt1)
This covers some events in the eighth month of the eighteenth year of the reign of Pharaoh Ptolomy, son of Ptolomy.
This covers some events in the eighth month of the eighteenth year of the reign of Pharaoh Ptolomy, son of Ptolomy.
From Sammus’s Boast:
We set sail at dusk on August 18th from Hemeroskopeion, which was exactly a week after leaving Emporion. The night was uneventful and by morning the weather had turned cooler and showery. During the morning we rounded a point and could see the coast heading west and south before us. We spotted a deserted beach late on the 19th August and spent the night beached there.
The night was quiet, and we set sail in the morning in persistent light rain, with poor visibility. Mago and Toxoanassa saw some wreckage floating in the water nearby and we steered to investigate. It appeared to be flotsam and jetsam from a vessel and Mago threw a line, and I helped haul it closer. It looked like a body and Amphius clambered down to look more closely. He reported that there was only half a body remaining and the birds had pecked at the face. It seemed to Amphius that the victim had secured himself to the foundering ship, but rescue had come too late, and the body had probably been in the sea a week or two. There was a ring, which Amphius removed. Amphius cut the wreckage free, and it sank slowly as he clambered back aboard. The ring was a gold signet ring with what Agripinus recognised as a sign of Tanit. Si'aspiqo cast a cantrip and confirmed that it was not magic. Agripinus muttered a short prayer over the remains consigning them to the deep. We wondered whether the wreck had been caused by a storm but there had not been one recently and we concluded that piracy was more likely to have been the cause. We kept a lookout for more flotsam and jetsam, but nothing was spotted. At the end of the day, we found another sandy beach, with several old campsites and spent the night there.
On August 21st there were light showers, and the wind now came from the east, which made it awkward to get off the beach, so I helped with the rowing. Late in the day the coast had become rocky and there was nowhere obvious to beach the ship and so we stood out to sea. Si'aspiqo cast a cantrip and did not feel a storm was coming and the rain would die out the following day. Amphius kept watch for the night and after midnight he reported that he could see breakers far off. We rowed away from them and there were no more alarms for the night.
By dawn on 22nd August the wind had changed to come from the northwest, which was a good direction. During the day the crew caught several fish, and we anchored in another sandy cove for the night. Once darkness fell Amphius scouted around. He could see smoke, probably from a settlement a mile inland, but nothing disturbed us that night.
The 23rd August saw heavy showers and visibility worsened, despite Si'aspiqo’s positive forecast from his cantrip. As heavy rain set in, some of the crew mocked the magician by miming sunbathing. In the mid-afternoon the lookout spotted a sandy beach, and the ship headed to shore. Si'aspiqo was very seasick in the heavy swell. Through the rain we saw a couple of fishing vessels already beached. The boat struck the beach hard, and anchors were thrown overboard. Toxoanassa, Amphius and Agripinus leapt overboard and forced their way through the surf.
They headed off 300 yards along the beach to investigate the fishing boats and a group of a dozen men came to talk to them. A fight suddenly broke out and I guessed the men were pirates. Mago and I leapt over the side and set off running to join our three comrades.
As I ran, I saw Amphius and Toxoanassa loose arrows. She narrowly missed the figure that seemed to be the spokesman, but Amphius shot him in the arm, and he screamed. Agripinus drew his sword and asked if anyone wanted to fight. Toxoanassa shot one spearman and Amphius shot the other in the head and he lost interest in continuing. Some of the pirates were running and one shot a sling and hit Amphius. Amphius shot again and I could see his bowstring had failed in the rain, but Toxoanassa shot the leading spearman in the body.
Agripinus called out in a commanding voice “Carthaginians flee” in Punic. Some of the pirates immediately ran away, while others stopped in confusion and just a few continued. Toxoanassa was put off by the loud shout, but Amphius drew his sword. A man with a club threw a stone and missed and another armed with a falcata in one hand and with a hook at the end of his other arm closed with Amphius. Agripinus was faced with two men armed with clubs.
Amphius missed and was struck by the falcata, but the hook missed, while Agripinus was hit by a club. Toxoanassa shot another approaching pirate in the leg, and he went down. Amphius hit his opponent in the right arm, causing him to miss. Agripinus shielded one blow and hit the other man in the right leg with his new sword. Amphius struck his opponent in the right leg and staggered him back. Toxoanassa dodged a sling shot.
The pirates looked demoralized and started backing. Agripinus sliced into the right leg of a man with his sword and the man collapsed to the sand, while Toxoanassa shot the slinger in the arm, but the pirate fighting Amphius slashed him with his hook. Agripinus pushed past his two opponents after their leader, a priest called Boros, I later learnt. Toxoanassa shot the man closest to her in the arm and he fell to the sand and the rest of the pirates started to flee.
Agripinus ignored the fleeing men and grabbed Boros. Amphius let his opponent turn to flee and then stabbed him in the back and ran him through. Toxoanassa continued to shoot at the fleeing targets, and soon two of them were lying face down in the sand. Mago soon jogged up and I was somewhat later and out of breath from running in chainmail. The fleeing men were heading inland, and we ignored them.
We heard cries for help in Balearic and saw three heads sticking out of the sand. Mago let them know we were rescuing them. We took possession of the campsite and dug out the three fishermen. They had been beaten up but were otherwise unharmed. Unfortunately, two of their comrades had been killed. There were four ships drawn up here and a huge, blue fish hung on a tripod. We collected up some arms and Agripinus healed the wounded priest so that he could be questioned.
The fishermen explained that they had landed the fish and one of the boats was theirs. They had been attacked by three boatloads of pirates, who had killed their two comrades and then buried the three of them alive. The three pirate ships all had pale red sails and red insignia – which Agripinus knew was the mark of Melkart. All four of the ships would be crewed by five men, with four rowing and one steering.
Our crew soon arrived and took care of the corpses and any pirates left on the beach. There were three corpses and two wounded captives other than Boros. We learnt that the pirates had come from Akre Leuke, the closest Punic colony. The crew returned to our ship, hauled it further up the beach and set a guard, while my comrades and I made camp at the captured campsite.
From Sammus’s Boast:
The three rescued fishermen Tona, Nandes and Elandos had just a few words of Arma, but they chatted away to Mago in Balearic. They were very grateful and thanked us profusely. That evening they cooked tuna steaks for us in celebration of their rescue. They had nothing else to give but if we could take them home their clan would thank us. They asked as a boon to help them out to sea as it was too rough for the three of them to manage. They had heard of Akre Leuke which was two days’ sail away and was a place given over to evil deeds, theft, murder, and piracy they told us. They had heard of the new city and believed those there to be honourable, but added it was difficult to find work there. It blew hard that night with lots of surf. In the morning there was a gusty southerly wind and showers with poor visibility. Amphius scouted during the night but reported seeing no-one in the dunes.
Si'aspiqo cast a weather cantrip, and thought there was rain and wind ahead, so we stayed on the beach for the day and found a stream for water. Boros was now conscious and Agripinus questioned him. Once Agripinus gave his word he would be left unharmed on the beach, he agreed to answer Agripinus’s questions.
Boros was a devotee of Melkart with many tattoos in Punic. He was from Akre Leuke, which was the front line against the Greeks. Since the silver boom had started in the West times were much harder there, he said, and men lived and died by the sword. He explained that Akre Leuke was run by a council of three each affiliated to a different substantial armed faction; Sadoc, leading the red banner of Melkart, Hasdrubal, the blue and black banner of the Strongmen of Baal and Hannibal the black and yellow of the Faithful of Baal. He thought Sadoc the strongest, but maybe that was because that was his own faction. Anyone landing in Akre Leuke could deal with the council of three and buy and sell arms and armour or ship provisions and there was a slave market.
Boros was evidently well travelled in the area and explained that from west from Akre Leuke there were the following settlements: New Carthage or Hadasht for new port in the local tongue, Abdira, Sexi and Malakka each two or three days apart, then came the narrows. We asked for more information on the narrows, and he talked of the great rock near Kart on the northern coast, with Abilia on the southern coast. He had not been out on the Demon Sea beyond the pillars, but he had spoken to people who had gone as far as Cartessus on the Demon Sea.
The rest of the day and night passed without incident, but when Amphius was scouting in the pre-dawn light he spotted the movement of one or two people in the sand dunes further down the beach beyond the ship. He checked there were no more people there but then returned to the ship to report.
Si'aspiqo cast his cantrip again and deemed the forecast uncertain but that it would probably continue rainy and rough for the day. In the afternoon a couple of people appeared and waved and Agripinus sent Mago to wave back at them. It was a young couple with creels, and they shout to him in Spanish that they were selling shellfish. He waved them down to the boats to trade. We bought some oysters, clams, mussels, and crabs, paying with some of the silver pieces we had taken from the pirates. Agripinus told them we were from Carthage and had punished the pirates. Si'aspiqo spent much of the time contemplating the green ring we had gained in Kaskator, and I took the opportunity to continue to practice my Greek as long as training in sword and javelin with Amphius.
The next morning the wind was lighter and from the north, and the rain cleared but there was still a heavy swell. Si'aspiqo thought the weather would improve later and we might be able to leave either later that afternoon or on the morrow. Kallicrates had the crew digging to help free the ship’s stern. The two young beachcombers returned with more shellfish and some seaweed which we bought with more of the pirates’ silver.
Agripinus ordered the pirate ships to be left undamaged as their destruction would have meant a 60-mile trek through the interior to Akre Leuke for the pirates and very likely death. However, the Balearic fishermen did liberate a few fittings from the pirate ships along with an extra oar. They asked for help to get out to sea and Kallicrates arranged for the drawing of lots and two sailors helped the fishing vessel out through the surf and onto calmer waters. Once the Morning Breeze was also through the surf the fishing boat rowed closer and our two sailors were swung back abord and we waved farewell. Boros was left unarmed on the beach as agreed.
The Morning Breeze stayed well out to sea to avoid Akre Leuke and with Amphius able to see in the dark, the ship sailed on through the night. The next day we decided we were far enough away from Akre Leuke to steer to the west and after a couple of days the pilot judged we were close enough to New Carthage to change course and head north. Soon we saw three small sails ahead, which we guessed were fishermen. We manoeuvred into hailing distance, and they hailed us in Punic that they were from Hadasht. They advised us to continue our course and we would arrive at the port. Later in the afternoon we saw a large natural harbour and bay slightly to the west.
We were met by a light ramship, and it was evident that most of the vessels here were military. There were many cranes at the harbour and a half-completed fortress. Agripinus, in full gear, greeted the commander of the ramship, with his name and position and asked if we might dock as we wished to trade. The ramship came alongside and the commander had a good look at Agripinus then saluted him and gave directions to the harbourmaster. Agripinus returned the salute and we sailed on into harbour. By early evening we had dropped anchor. Agripinus registered with the harbourmaster, who told him that he should report to the commander, Hanno, in the fortress.
Agripinus and Mago made their way to the fortress. They waited 45 minutes and were served refreshments, before they were shown in to see Hanno. He was a grizzled, balding man, well into his sixties, with a short spiky beard and crew cut white hair. After a few words Agripinus realised that Hanno was the father of Hasdrubal, a senior officer of the Sacred Band, who Agripinus knew. Hanno asked if Agripinus was on a mission, but the priest replied that although he bore the goodwill of Carthage, he had no message. He could tell Hanno the most recent news from when he had left Carthage. He explained that he was on a private venture heading West with trade items. They had building materials, mainly roofing tiles, and Hanno was pleased as they were in demand. He promised to send a man down to survey and offer a price from the navy.
Hanno explained that this was a military port under construction with some civil support and local supplies. He mentioned that there had been trouble inland with some disputes over the silver mines. Agripinus asked about a temple, but the street of temples was just marked by pegs in the ground. He was given some accommodation for the crew in a small warehouse with a range in one corner.
From Sammus’s Boast:
The morning after meeting Hanno, someone from the port authority arrived before breakfast to inspect the cargo. Kallicrates came to the warehouse shortly after very happy to announce that the port would pay one and a quarter gold pieces per slate, so 545gp for 436 tiles, in gold minted Carthaginian coins. Dockers soon arrived to load the tiles into carts.
Later that day a messenger arrived with a note, which was a formal dinner invite from Hanno, in Punic for Agripinus and his “sworn companions”. The dinner would take place soon after dusk.
I dressed in all my gold, but not in armour and just took my dagger and my comrades dressed in their finest. When we arrived a grizzled man with one eye and one arm, but dressed in full armour, introduced himself as Truco and asked us to leave our blades in wooden lockers. We all checked in our daggers. He spoke some Punic and excellent Arma with a Spanish or Celtic accent and stood guard outside the door as less heavily armed men ushered us into a room. We sat down at the table and Hanno soon joined us for a very pleasant meal of multiple courses. Agripinus introduced us in turn and then Truco addressed him in Punic and then repeated himself in Arma.
“So,” he asked, “436 grade one Greek roof tiles, what’s the story? Usually used grade one tiles don’t get transported; they are re-used locally. Some of these had burnt edges – where did you get them?”
Agripinus explained what we had found at Hemeroskopeion and added that we were glad to be a small part of building New Carthage. Hanno knew the place and the lighthouse. Agripinus then explained about Si'aspiqo’s vision and that the report of the locals seemed to fit what the magician had seen. It seemed that Akre Leuke – from where we suspected the attack had originated – was a rogue Punic settlement. Hanno explained that making war without state authority was a serious charge, and Carthage would not take that lightly. He wanted us to gather evidence for him that he could present in Carthage to get sanction for an attack on the pirates in Akre Leuke.
He proposed that Agripinus and his companions visit places and obtain hard evidence of what happened by buying enslaved captives from Hemeroskopion – who would be able to tell the story under questioning in Carthage. He would pay 1,000gp per slave and would provide help to get to the Demon Sea. He excused himself and left us alone to discuss our response to his proposal. My companions and I agreed that as this was the direction we were proposing to travel anyway, that we would agree to accept Hanno’s commission.
After half an hour or so, Truco looked in and asked if we needed more time or wine and when Agripinus said that we were ready, Hanno returned. Hanno explained again that he needed permission from Carthage to sort out the problems in Akre Leuke and that he would leave it up to Agripinus to determine what would make reliable evidence. He told us that this would be a covert mission and saw it as a bit of a longshot but that he would give us something to make it worthwhile and Agripinus agreed that we would accept.
Hanno suggested that we put in at Baria, Odyssa, Sexi and Kart, going west and then head through the Pillars of Hercules to the Demon Sea. Rusadir on the south coast opposite Akre Leuke, might also be a possibility, but this would require that a slaver take on water and Hanno thought it was more likely that any slaves from Hemeroskopeion were taken west. Abilia was on the opposite coast south of Kart and once were in the Demon Sea, Tingir was to the south and Gadir and Tartessos to the north. Again, he told us he would send some stuff down to help us on our way and make our trip worthwhile.
The next morning, water, food and amphoras of wine started to be loaded onto the Morning Breeze, much to Kallicrates’s surprise. Agripinus explained a little of what we had agreed and Kallicrates was happy that all he had to do was sign for the delivery of the supplies. Soon spare sail cloth, rope, and lumber were loaded aboard. Truco arrived to supervise a small barrel, which contained several tarry blobs, which he explained were 50 fire arrows, then a box with six small balls, which were heavy slingshot with a wick – incendiaries from Syracuse. Next came a large box which we were told not to drop. A large amphora came with it, which was winched aboard and propped in a corner. The box had a military grade ship light, made of bronze and thick glass, and the amphora contained whale oil. Truco also handed Agripinus a scroll, which said in Punic that Agripinus, officer of the Sacred Band, was working on matters of state naval intelligence and should receive all assistance and was signed by Hanno.
Finally, there was a little woven basket, containing a hand-written note and a cloth bundle. The note in Punic explained that someone with enough wit should be able to use the contents to hear storms coming. Wrapped in the cloth was a strange, worn shell with coloured stripes and spiky appendages.
Kallicrates said that there was enough on board to sail for weeks. With the light at night, we would look like a ramship, although the light would also effectively blind Amphius. It took all day to load all the supplies. We were ready to sail at dawn, but as the sun rose Agripinus held a religious ceremony for Tanit’s blessing. He had bought a young bullock and he sacrificed it as part of the ceremony. We set sail at lunchtime.
During the past night, Amphius had had a couple of visitors and as we sailed out into the bay, he explained that he had passed word via Truco, that he was interested in weapons and had a substantial amount of gold to spend. He had had two responses and he showed us the blades he had bought.
The first was a short sword of very dark iron with a pale gold pommel shaped like a bull, in a fancy sheath. It had Punic writing on, which Agripinus said read “Blood for the Blood God” and marked it as a votive offering to Baal. Si'aspiqo said it disturbed his dreams and much blood had been spilt with it.
The second was a cavalry sword made for the noble cavalry in Carthage, it was well balanced and flexible and should give a bonus to the wielder. Si'aspiqo said it was a mundane object but well-made.
Amphius decided to pack away the dark sword of Baal to sell at a later date and use the cavalry sword.
From Sammus’s Boast:
We left New Carthage behind us and headed south for the rest of the day and then sailed on into the night with Amphius on watch.
The next morning, 1st September, dawned fair with a light northeasterly wind. We discussed our options for finding the slaves from Hemeroskopeion. Along the coast Baria was famous for mining and there was a silver boom there, but we did not think it likely there would be much demand for women and child slaves there. Abdira was a smaller trading settlement with contacts with the tribes inland. Sexi was another Carthaginian settlement with some mining and exported fish. Malakka was the largest Carthaginian settlement in Southern Spain and was founded at the same time as Carthage – it sold purple dye and manufactured goods. Kart was much smaller and was the last stop before the Demon Sea.
We decided to sail along the coast and stop at each settlement in turn, so we sailed along the coast to the west. We saw a couple of fishing boats and caught a tuna, although it was nowhere near the size of the one that the Balearic fishermen had caught, it was around 70 or 80lbs with strange scars and round marks.
The next morning was fresher with the wind from slightly west of north and the Morning Breeze had to tack for most of the day, but in the late afternoon the lookout spotted a settlement along the coast. It was a harbour about the same size as New Carthage and Odyssus recognised it as Baria. We had to row in, but we arrived a couple of hours before dusk. It was a busy little port, but we were soon moored amongst some fishing boats against one of the small piers.
My companions and I went into the settlement and found a restaurant in the beach area for a meal. I ate large quantities of tasty seafood, and plenty of wine while my companions found out the following: there was a local temple of Tanit in the city, which was formerly dedicated to Astarte; there was an Acropolis above the beach area and a necropolis for former citizens situated nearby; Baria produced a range of metals – silver, gold, bronze, lead and copper – which could readily be bought; there was a major silver mining business in the hinterland of Baria and a lot more free-mining for gold and other metals nearer the town; slaves were brought in from Carthage and sent to the silver mines.
Amphius surprisingly lost his way while returning to the ship; as he tried to regain his bearings, Agripinus had his purse stolen by a cutpurse.
The next morning Kallicrates, Agripinus and Mago went into the city to buy metal. We had agreed to put in shares of 100gp and with Si'aspiqo putting in for two shares and Kallicrates for three this came to a round 1000gp. With Mago’s advice on the quality of alloys, Kallicrates bought a mixture of metal ingots: silver, lead, copper, bronze, and iron. Kallicrates thought he had gained good value for money. Later that day donkeys arrive at the pier with the first set of ingots – the rest would be delivered the next day.
We split into different groups to explore the city further and see if there was any news of Greek slaves. Agripinus asked if there might be a slave for sale who could speak African languages and Greek but found that there was no regular slave market in Baria. Amphius looked for educated Greeks in town and found a tutor who could teach Greek and Iberian. From him he learned that there were occasionally some Greek-speaking slaves for sale, but the last group which had arrived in Baria had been enslaved criminals from Carthage for the mines, and so not from Hemeroskopeion.
Si'aspiqo bought a kid and some wine for a sacrifice to Astarte and was directed to the temple for incense. Agripinus took him there, and he found a shrine to Astarte. Si'aspiqo hoped to arrange to set up a ceremony, but the temple staff were mortified when they realised he was sacrificing to Astarte - Enslaved and not Astarte - Great Mother of Fertility to whom the shrine was dedicated. Luckily Agripinus was there otherwise he would have been thrown out onto the street. Si'aspiqo made an apologetic donation and Agripinus worshipped at the shrine of Tanit and made a small sacrifice.
After the delivery of the remaining ingots, we set sail again on the 4th September. It was a fair day with a southerly wind and the crew had to row the Morning Breeze out of harbour. As we were leaving there were half a dozen small fishing boats just ahead of us, but we quickly passed them and then turned West. We continued into the night and around midnight Amphius noticed lots of sparkling blue lights in the water. After a while we realised this was from small squid. Some of them were caught and hauled aboard where they glowed for a little while before fading. The lights reminded us of the glowing plants in Kaskator. After an hour or so we left the lights behind us as we sailed on.
From Sammus’s Boast:
On the morning of the 5th of September there was a light wind from the south and we sailed on out of sight of land, continuing more slowly northwest for the night. As dusk fell two very large fish were caught, but as the second was hauled in, a shark or something from the deep tore off two thirds of it. Perhaps it was an omen of what was to come the next night.
At dawn the wind was much brisker wind from the southeast. We saw some fishing vessels and Odyssus thought we would reach Abdira the next day. At dusk we slackened speed again but sailed on. Amphius spotted some wreckage in the water and the helm steered around it.
As the rest of us settled for the night, there was a loud shout of ‘Kētŏs!’, from Amphius in Greek and then he called “Action, Hydra!” in Arma. I grabbed my sword and shield and clapped on my helmet as a large snake-like form loomed out of the sea and hissed fiercely. I raced towards it.
Toxoanassa hit it in the head with an arrow, while Mago struck it with a slingshot. My blow went wide, but some of the crew threw javelins and one struck home. The Ketos battered a couple of sailors off their feet with the side of its head and neck, while Agripinus called for a shield wall.
The sea beast gave another loud and fearsome hiss and some of the crew cowered away. Mago and Amphius hit it again with missiles, I missed once more as I stepped back into the shield wall. The beast missed me and then bit and worried at the mast. More javelins were thrown, while Si'aspiqo lit a torch with a cantrip and set it to burn at a low level. The two sailors who had been knocked down got back up and sheltered behind the shield wall.
Amphius, Toxoanassa and Mago all hit the Ketos and then I hacked halfway through the neck of the beast with a powerful blow and the head lolled on the deck as the rest of its body started slithering overboard. I hacked through the long neck, severing the head, from which two deeply embedded arrows stuck out, while cheers erupted from the sailors. We could all hear the bump of the whale-like body against the side of the ship as we drifted on.
Kallicrates shouted and some lines and hooks were thrown to try to snag the carcass and the sail was dropped. One line hooked in, and I helped hold it fast. Agripinus grabbed another rope and a large hook and jumped down into the sea. He managed to stick the hook firmly into the carcass, while a couple of sailors hung over the sides grasping poles with hooks on the end grabbing at the body. Agripinus was helped back on board to safety, and we all hauled at the body. It was probably many times the weight of a man, but we got it alongside and then partly out of the water. Unfortunately, at that point the hooks ripped out and the body sank slowly below the water and drifted away.
The head was the size of a large horse and Si'asiqo told me that it resembled a Nile crocodile. It was certainly the largest and ugliest toothed fish any of us had seen, and it was certainly a fearsome creature. Kallicrates opened an amphora of wine, and we all celebrated the slaying of the Ketos.
By the next morning the wind had died, and we had to row. Toxoanassa and I took a turn, but it was much more difficult than it looked; we almost lost our oars and were quickly replaced. Si'aspiqo wanted a tooth from the Ketos, and Mago winkled out a sizeable one embedded in the mast, where the beast had bitten it. In the early afternoon we arrived at the small settlement of Abdira, which was on a small hill above a harbour.
Agripinus spoke to some sailors from one of the ships in the harbour and asked about Ketos. The sailors all made a sign of Melkart, and one told him that anyone would be lucky to survive an attack from one and that it was the worst of luck to encounter one as they took many a sailor. The priest then dropped into the conversation that we had chopped the head off one although the body had got away. Soon word of the head of the Ketos had percolated around harbour.
Abdira was a very small town with one substantial building: the Temple of Melkart. There was a small market, where there was a fair amount of food on sale. Si'aspiqo did some small tricks with sleight of hand and smoke to entertain the locals, while Mago and I watched. Amphius asked a local about buying slaves and was told that slaves were rarely sold here, and he would be better to go to Malakka.
Agripinus talked with a merchant who spoke Punic and learnt that there was no regular slave market here. Trade was mainly with the tribes inland, which provided grain, olives, fruit, basket ware and livestock. The settlement was also well known for bulk salted fish. The merchant had heard a rumour of strangers in town who had killed a sea monster and Agripinus admitted that it had been him and his comrades. The merchant bought mugs of wine for Agripinus in exchange for the tale. Agripinus bought salt to preserve the head and was advised that Malakka or Kart, which was a strange place, might be good places to sell it. My comrades and I gathered to eat at a Greek-speaking restaurant, while the crew toured the local bars celebrating their survival with large quantities of wine.
In the morning Kallicrates had to send a search party for the last three sailors. They were found sleeping off the wine, slumped in a corner. We left harbour later that morning despite the three latecomers still being incapable of rowing. Many of the local sailors gathered to watch the Morning Breeze leave. Soon we picked up a brisk easterly wind and headed west. We sailed on at night, with Amphius on watch. He saw the multiple colours of luminous squid in the water once more but left them undisturbed.
The next morning, 9th September, the wind dropped, and we had to row. Late in the afternoon, the lookout saw smoke ahead and in the early evening we rowed into the port of Sexi. We tied up alongside a small pier at dusk and the Carthaginian militia soon arrived with the harbourmaster. Agripinus introduced himself and we were welcomed. Sexi was bigger than Abdira, but places were preparing to close so we left our investigations until the morning.
In the morning most of the fishing boats had left to fish. We found that the market here had fish paste, silver, and fish readily available. There was a temple of Melkart but no slave market. Again, Malakka was suggested as a good place to go. We learnt that there had been a Greek merchant here last week, but he had gone now. The local fish pate was very pungent and Mago bought three sealed earthenware jars of it for 10 Carthaginian gold coins each. We left Sexi at midday of the 10th of September.
From Sammus’s Boast:
As we sailed away from Sexi with a northerly wind pushing us away from the coast, Si'aspiqo used the magic shell to check the long-range weather; he found it hard to hear anything. We passed a few returning fishing boats and then turned west, continuing throughout a fine, clear night under a small sail. The next two days the wind was from the southwest or west and the crew were forced to row. We made slight progress during the days and just drifted at night while the crew rested.
The next morning, 12th September, there was a light southerly wind and the Morning Breeze tacked. By mid-morning we passed a few inshore craft and then a much larger settlement came into view ahead. We were met by a Carthaginian warship and after a short conversation we were allowed to continue.
Malaka was a river port with a peninsular out into the sea. There was a larger version of the Hemeroskopeion lighthouse – a blocky structure with a site for the light on the roof. There was a V-shaped wall closing off the peninsular with a tower at each end and a hill between them. We slowly rowed up and moored against a small quay around midday. Kallikrates was horrified to have to pay 50gp for a good spot to unload the cargo.
Malaka had a large market with shops and stalls with a variety of goods for sale – salted fish, dyed cloth, purple dye, jewelry, and leather work. There were three temples: one to Tanit and Astarte Holy Mother; a second to Melkart; a third to Baal. There was a weekly livestock market we were told, with goats, donkeys, cattle, chicken and occasionally horses. There was also an irregular slave market, which was dominated by three men – Haro of Ham, Sam-el of Tyre and Jonas of Malaka.
Mago found someone very keen to buy his fish paste and he made 50% profit. Agripinus sold his spare helmet. Mago found a weaponsmith, from whom Amphius bought four good quality swords and Toxoanassa a steel dagger with a gold pommel. Kallicrates tried selling our metal ingots but was asked various technical questions and decided to try again later with Mago’s help.
We celebrated our arrival with a long meal and quite a few drinks; the drunken Amphius managed to get lost on our way back to the ship. We were spotted by a night patrol of very young soldiers; the situation might have been problematic, but thanks to Agripinus’s presence, they just pointed us in the right direction. We reached the ship with no more issues.
The 14th September Agripinus took Si'aspiqo and I to the temple of Tanit, while Mago helped Kallicrates with trading the ingots. At the temple Si'aspiqo was told something of the worship of Astarte in Malaka. She was claimed as the mother or aunt of Tanit, and revered for childbirth, fertility, and health. Meanwhile Agripinus spoke to the High Priest and asked about the best way of dealing with a Ketos. The High Priest suggested that the holy light of Tanit was best to try to make the creature quail but admitted that Melkart might be more apt to persuade them to depart and Baal might more directly repel monsters of deep. A protection might work if a creature were demonic, but this was not the case for a Ketos. He also told Agripinus and I that they were more common in the Demon Sea and suggested it were best not to go through the gateway into it.
The priest had some healing draughts of holy water blessed by Tanit, which might be good for the wounded, and we brought three potions for 100gp and were warned not to take more than one a day.
Agripinus gave the High Priest news from Sardinia. In exchange the High Priest explained that Malaka was run by a Council of 9 citizens. There was a citizen levy and a band of professional soldiers led by a man named Paris, which would give a force of some hundreds to defend the city. Agripinus also asked about the slave traders and learnt that Jonas of Malaka sacrificed at the Temple of Tanit and Astarte; the High Priest suspected that the others might go to the temple of Melkart, but he didn’t know for sure.
With Mago to give technical advice on the metals, Kallicrates struck a deal to sell however many of the metal ingots he wished at a profit of around 40%.
Agripinus requested an introduction to Paris. He introduced himself to the commander and explained that was interested in talking to the slaver merchants, Jonas in particular, and could he send someone to guide us. He also congratulated the commander on the diligence of his night watch explaining how we had got lost on our first night in the port. When Paris started to speak, Agripinus realised that he knew Paris from when they were both in the Sacred Band in Carthage and they had not been close friends. Agripinus remembered having been a tongue-tied recruit in Paris’s presence. Paris had been more interested in the military rather than the priestly duties of his role. Agripinus could not remember why Paris had left Carthage,
Paris was courteous but evidently unimpressed that we had lost our way in the port. He agreed to allocate one of the levy, if we needed it. Agripinus left hurriedly accompanied by an orderly with his arm in a sling. Cenas, a local man, admitted that he had been injured falling from his horse. Cenas’s parents owned property in the area, which is why he had been drafted.
Cenas told Agripinus that Jonas had an estate out of town with Celt-Iberian mercenaries. He had served on the town council in the past. He said it would be impolite to go to the estate without an invite, but he should have an agent in town. Cenas would ask around to find out about Jonas or his agent and would come to the Morning Breeze first thing next morning.
Cenas arrived as promised on the Friday morning, wearing marine armour, but with his arm still in a sling. Si'aspiqo offered to cast dream sleep on him to help with his recovery and Cenas readily agreed. He had learnt the name of the agent for Jonas and had directions to a town house where the agent lived. He led us there and Agripinus explained to the factor that he wished to talk to Jonas as one of his companions had relatives who had moved through slave markets. He had heard of Jonas through the temple and would like to ask him some questions. The factor replied that he would pass on the message, and he should have a reply the next day.
The next day Agripinus received an invitation to see Jonas of Malaka for Agripinus and such companions and servants as he might need.
Next game 14th July.
From Sammus’s Boast:
Before we left to visit Jonas of Malaka, we discussed what our approach should be. After a debate, we agreed to talk to Jonas and get his advice on how to trace some relatives of Amphius and get some explanation of how the slave trade worked.
Si'aspiqo remained on board ship, reading scrolls, but the rest of us walked out of town in the cool of the morning and followed the directions we had been given. We passed vineyards and trees before coming to a large villa and estate complex. Agripinus stated our business, and we were escorted into the outer part of the complex by half a dozen Celt-Iberian mercenaries, armed with long gallic swords. They seemed to be bothered about something and I saw some making superstitious signs. One of them spoke Arma and invited us to hang up our weapons at the front entrance. The squad leader bowed and apologized before patting us down, but nobody touched Toxoanassa, and they followed us inside into into a courtyard garden.
We were met by a well-built, tanned man with a shaven head, who introduced himself as Jonas and welcomed us to his home in Punic. As most of us did not understand Punic, Jonas agreed to speak to us in low Greek which was very similar to Arma. He invited us to share a glass of wine and explained- somewhat sheepishly - that his mercenaries were God-fearing Iberians who had been upset to find an armed woman in our band. They would not touch her, their faith causing them to believe her a 'man-killer' – they believed they would be cursed to touch her and struck blind if they saw her naked. Therefore, they had accompanied us into the courtyard rather than examine her for weapons. This caused us some amusement, especially with Amphius obviously half-blind and squinting out from under his sun-hat.
Jonas said that clearly the Scythian was indeed the real deal and asked if Agripinus was also the genuine article. Agripinus used his divine power and brought forth the light of Tanit after warning Amphius to shade his eyes. The Iberians muttered amongst themselves, and Jonas was fascinated. He told the priest he was all ears to hear what had brought him and his interesting companions here. Agripinus explained that we were trying not to make mistakes or offend people in the business of slavery, but we were looking for particular Greek slaves, relatives of Amphius. We had begun here as we thought Jonas would receive him more favourably as a fellow believer in Tanit. Jonas asked for names and Amphius gave him a few common Greek female names and said they were from Crete or closer and when pressed told Jonas they had been recently taken from Hemeroskopeion. When asked how many had been taken Amphius admitted that he didn’t know, but there had been many, and he was looking for a number of families. Jonas considered for a moment and then asked for a word in private with Agripinus and they disappeared into a side room.
The two men returned after a few minutes with the Celt-Iberians watching Toxoanassa unceasingly. Jonas dismissed all but two guards and spoke in a lower voice so that only we could hear. He told us that about 10 weeks ago a ship had come in sailing westwards and taken on a large amount of water and some food, so there must have been many slaves on board. There had been a private sale of a few girls to Haro of Amm, but Jonas had only heard of this from the gossip of some sailors. Apparently, the ship belonged to Hannikart of Gadir, a name meaning ‘beloved of Melkart’. Hannikart was a well-known slaver who transported slaves and traded them in Gadir and Tartessos. Jonas was pretty sure that no-one else in Malaka had been offered any slaves, only Haro. 'A quiet deal, kept inside the faction', he said.
Jonas believed that a small group of female slaves had been sold and perhaps as many as three dozen. Haro was a follower of Melkart and a man of some disrepute. He was known as a specialist who only dealt in pretty women. Jonas explained that Haro had his own rules and would only buy girls at least 5 or 6 years old, otherwise it was hard to predict their beauty and would not want them over 20 unless they were outstanding or exotic – at this point he glanced meaningfully at Toxoanassa – and he trained them for a long time. ‘He deals in the exotic and you have the real thing, which should gain you access and help you make a deal’, he pointed out. Jonas asked Agripinus not to tell Haro where we had heard our news. ‘Whatever your business is, if it leads to problems for Haro, that sounds good to me’ he added. Jonas finished by saying that Haro had an agent in town, so it should be easy to contact him.
After other questions, he said that Sam-el of Tyre dealt exclusively in slaves for manufacturing - spinning and weaving and so forth; he was not very interested in males as they were less nimble than women. Haro might have some of the people we were looking for; otherwise, we would have to go on to Gadir.
Agripinus had agreed to provide a special ceremony for Jonas in exchange for the information provided and asked when Jonas would like this blessing from Tanit. Jonas said any sunset would work and he would just need a day or two’s notice to inform his Iberian contacts. He wanted the blessing at a sacred grove no more than ten miles away in a private ceremony by invitation only. He would provide us with accommodation until the ceremony took place.
It was a splendid estate with several outbuildings, including a stables, many fruit trees, and fruitful vineyards with between 100 and 200 workers in all. There was a tiny shrine to Tanit and Holy Mother Astarte in the villa, and Toxoanassa even had her own room. She and I borrowed horses and had a pleasant ride back to town, where we let Kallicrates know that all was well, and that we would be back to the port in a few days, after the ceremony. We rode straight back to the villa and were waited on hand and foot by numerous domestic slaves. We all headed out the next evening to a grove of trees about ten miles away, with a small lake with a stream emerging from it and a spring as the source - the sacred spring of the local tribe. It looked very similar to the shrines I was used to back in Gaul, where we would have thrown items into the lake to propitiate the Gods. Agripinus blessed the water, which seemed very pure, and carried out a ceremony to cleanse Jonas of all his sins as the sun set in the West. Afterwards we all returned by torchlight to the estate without incident to enjoy the luxurious food, drink and accommodation and were sad to depart in the morning to return to Malaka.
Amphius went round the port and bought some some drinks for thirsty sailors and dockers. He learnt that Jonas was the easternmost of the three slavers’ estates, with Sam-el’s in the centre and Haro’s estate to the west, all about 5 or 6 miles outside of town. Haro was some posh foreigner from Africa, and there were many lurid stories of a harem and fantastic dancing girls. When Amphius asked where he sold his slaves, his sources did not know as it was way out of their league, but it would be to local toffs, or they might be transported even as far as Carthage. Haro had a guarded estate with fierce dogs and was of mixed blood, probably Liby-Phoenician, but was nonetheless a Carthaginian citizen who paid his taxes in Malaka.
From Sammus’s Boast:
We discussed what we should try to buy from Haro, and I said that given their likely ages I doubted that any of the slaves would make credible witnesses in Carthage, but Toxoanassa suggested that they would be able to help us identify suitable witnesses if we travelled on to where the other slaves might be sold. Agripinus left word in town that we would like to see Haro and a few days later we received an invitation and directions.
We set out in the morning and this time Si'aspiqo accompanied us. A few hours walk took us somewhere very like the compound of Jonas. There were managed grounds and flashy new estate buildings with a wall and entranceway with lots of Greek tiles and stonework. As before there was a villa and several outbuildings, even with something that looked like a cavalry courtyard. We were met by Iberian guards and heard guard dogs barking. There were small groups of women doing something outdoors, but these were not farm workers — they were dressed in skimpy tunics and were a variety of ages, though all were young. Some were exercising, while others seemed to be doing classes.
We were escorted through a gateway into an inner courtyard by a couple of guards and heard whispered comments from the walls. There were pegs on the wall where we left our weapons, apart from Toxoanassa who kept a concealed dagger. Apart from the Scythian, who was just patted ineffectively, we were all searched thoroughly, especially me. There was more muttering, which by now we were sure was about Toxoanassa, an armed woman. I could hear quite a lot of whistling around us, but we could not see who it was.
We were led into a posh inner courtyard with gardens and polished marble. There was a large man seated on a wooden chair or throne in the centre of the garden courtyard. He greeted us in horribly accented Punic, which Agripinus translated: “Greetings strangers — welcome to my house, what business brings you to my door?” Haro was in his late forties, over six feet tall and very heavily muscled, probably the broadest man I had ever met. He had long dark hair and was dark and sunburnt. Agripinus introduced himself, thanked Haro and complimented him on his stature, then explained that we were looking for slaves. Haro switched to low Greek and sat down with a large sword across his lap. Once Agripinus explained that the rest of us were travelling companions and not mercenaries, Haro asked us to introduce ourselves.
I started and he noticed me eyeing his sword. He explained that it had gone to Egypt over 700 years ago with the army of Ma and he had had taken it from a tomb and had sent many souls into the afterlife; “what better blade to serve Melkart?”, he added. Si'aspiqo went next and Haro told him that 500 years ago their ancestors had fought for the Pharoah’s throne. The people of Kush, after a long struggle, had earned the respect of the Meshwesh. Mago went next and Haro told him that he had a dozen mercenaries from his islands who were paid in women, but that he could see there was wisdom and experience in his eyes.
Amphius then introduced himself and Haro mentioned the story of the labyrinth and the minotaur and said that Crete was very old and had once been the heart of the Blessed Sea. He then asked what had happened to the Greek’s eyes. Amphius tried to say it was sun blindness, but Haro warned Amphius not to vex him with tales of sunstoke and that he would not scoff at the truth but would punish a lie. Amphius then explained that he had been too greedy and consumed too much blood of the earth. Haro acknowledged his tale and said that he had been cursed by the Gods.
Finally, it came to Toxoanassa who introduced herself as Oiorpata of Scythia. Haro explained that he had long wished to meet a real Amazon, and find if they were really man-killers, who could shoot backwards off a galloping horse. He looked hard at her and said “Some hawks can never be tamed. They might sit awhile on your hand but will fly off one day because their hearts are truly wild”. He asked why she had left Scythia and she explained that she had a quest to perform on behalf of her father and that she had to visit the twin pillars of Hercules. He commented that she was a long way from Scythia and added that he had been well-served by fate to have such interesting visitors.
Agripinus explained that we were searching for lost relatives of Amphius who we thought had been taken as slaves. Haro replied that we looked more like Argonauts than grieving relatives, but added that the Powers guided all steps, so this meeting was not by chance. Opportunity was not to be scorned and he invited us to sit and talk a while. He clapped his hands and scantily clad young women brought stools for each and then each of us was served refreshments by a different, very attractive slave girl.
Agripinus gave some details of our travels, without mentioning Hemeroskopeion, and explained that we planned on visiting further places in search of the slaves as it matched our planned route. He told Haro that he was impressed with his buildings, his sword and impressive stature.
Haro explained that he dealt in women in his own way. He provided years of training and only sold the best; he didn’t sell girls he had just bought. However, he continued, he would break his own rules and sell an untrained girl from the latest group in exchange for a demonstration of the Amazon’s skill. We would be able to appraise the girls. There were 20 girls, he said, all young, some very young and we could pick whichever we chose. Agripinus asked Haro to what end he offered this and Haro said it was for amusement and to satisfy his curiosity. He added that the Amazon could choose one from three of his best horses, and then ride in the yard outside, where three young girls carrying shields would be. If she stuck an arrow in all three shields, then the Amazon would win the slave, but if any of the three managed to paint a mark on her then she would lose, and we should leave and never darken his door again.
We had a brief discussion in which Mago whispered that the whistling we had heard was young women being hunted so these girls would be trained. However, all agreed that this was the likeliest way of achieving our aim and Toxoanassa accepted the challenge.
Haro had three horses brought into the yard. A black one, a brown one and then another brown one with white socks. Toxoanassa decided the first was magnificent but unruly, and although the one with white socks seemed to her very fast, she chose the second as it was both intelligent and good natured. All three were very fine animals. She climbed on and rode it masterfully, and then fetched her bow and arrows.
Three young girls came into the yard, dressed in very little but bearing light shields painted scarlet and sticks with cloths soaked in paint on the end. Haro said “Go” and they ran towards Toxoanassa in a skirmishing line. When the Scythian got in good range, she loosed an arrow and the first girl tried to dodge holding the shield in front of herself. The arrow went almost completely through the centre of the shield, and she stopped and then walked off the field. The other two leapt towards Toxoanassa as she turned the horse and rode away, loosing another arrow behind her which bounced off a shield. The two girls zig-zagged towards her, and she shot again, but again it glanced off the target’s shield. The girl missed narrowly with her stick, as Toxoanassa swerved the horse around here, leaving a small paint stain on the horse.
The two girls now clustered together and Toxoanassa fired from longer range hitting a shield and leaving the arrow in it. This girl also stopped and walked away. The last one ran in a zig zag towards the Scythian but again Toxoanassa’s aim was true, and her arrow stuck firmly in the third shield. Toxoanassa picked up her arrows, pulling three of them out of the shields and trotted her horse to join up with the rest of us.
“Bravo — well done!”, exclaimed Haro, adding that he should have made this test more difficult — it seemed too easy for a real Amazon. He admitted that he had promised we could choose a girl and sent for them along with more refreshments.
Meantime Si'aspiqo talked with Haro of other worlds and Haro described dreams where he had seen the dead and therefore had become an initiate of Melkart who ruled the Land of the Dead. They compared dreams, and Haro told the magician that he had been born and brought up in Libya and had travelled to Egypt through the desert. I discussed Haro’s sword with him and when he let me pick it up the guards took a great deal of interest. It looked like it was made of bronze and was very long like a tapered gallic sword with a wide cross-guard. It was very sharp and well-balanced and felt much lighter than I had expected. Whoever made it 700 years before knew what they were doing.
Haro also spoke to Agripinus, recognizing that he was a was a priest of Tanit. Haro offered his respect to the wife of Baal-Hamon, which was an unusual way to refer to Tanit. He then called in the 20 young girls, who were a variety of ages. They were all clean and well-groomed in gymnastic attire. Amphius approached the girls with Agripinus and questioned them in Greek introducing himself and asking each in turn their name and age. They were all demure and polite and replied in good Greek. One of the older ones, called Ione, whispered something in Archaic Greek, which Amphius didn’t catch.
After a few more questions Agripinus told Haro that Ione seemed to fit their description. She was 17 and quite plain looking with dark hair and brown eyes but with the light of intelligence in her eyes. Haro said he was a man of his word, but did wonder whether Ione had been hiding her light under a bushel. He told us that he would like the Amazon in particular to visit again. Agripinus thanked him for his hospitality and added that if the Gods decided, we might drop in on our return. Haro told us that if we ever wished to go to Egypt that he might have valuable knowledge to offer.
Ione had little to pack, and it was not long before we set off for Malaka. After 100 yards or so, Amphius spoke to Ione and explained that we were seeking information about the fall of Hemeroskopeion and that she had a choice and could go back and stay with her friends if she preferred. “Let’s just keep walking”, she replied. When we were a mile away, she told us that she was a handmaiden of Apollo and would just like to be taken to any temple of Apollo.
Agripinus explained that we needed a statement of what had happened in Hemeroskopeion and would like to take her to Carthage to swear. We would like her to pose as a slave girl for now. If she had any problem with this, he would like to solve it amicably.
Ione explained how a ship had arrived at night full of Carthaginians bearing shields with painted devices on them and they had stormed and sacked the town. They had cast down and burned the temple and slain many people including her family. All females and all male non-combatants that were not too old were taken prisoner. Ione had claimed to be a Temple cleaner instead of a handmaiden of Apollo. Ione asked why we wanted to take her to Carthage when the people who had taken her were Carthaginians. The priest explained that they were of a different faction and Ione quickly grasped the implications and realised that she had been sold to Haro because he was a follower of Melkart. She thought Haro was very religious and wanted to live forever.
Agripinus told her that we expected her to play a role as a slave, but that we would treat her well and gave his word as priest of Tanit that in the end she would have her freedom. Ione was happy to go to Carthage and swear, if we would then take her to a temple of Apollo. She was keen to do something to give trouble to faction of Melkart and said she could be more useful if we got her to temple of Apollo, with a glint in her eye.
We returned to Malaka before nightfall without any trouble on the road and set sail on the morning tide.
From Sammus’s Boast:
We set sail on the morning tide on 21st September in fair weather with a good westerly wind to help us out of harbour. We then had to row into the wind to head along the coast towards Kart.
After an hour Ione asked to say her prayers to Apollo and after considering awhile Agripinus suggested she should do this from the stern, which would be more discrete and less likely to be noticed by the sailors. But this was not her way.
She stood up and sang very loudly in a beautiful voice:
Speed bonny boat like a bird on a wing,
Onward the sailors cry,
Carry the lass that’s born to be free
Over the sea to home.
Loud the winds howl, loud the winds roar,
Thunderclaps rend the air
Baffled my foes, stand by the shore
Follow they will not dare.
Speed bonny boat like a bird on a wing,
Onward the sailors cry,
Carry the lass that’s born to be free
Over the sea to home.
Burned is my home, Exile or Death
Scattered the loyal men.
Yet by the sword, cool in its sheath
Apollo will come again.
Speed bonny boat like a bird on a wing,
Onward the sailors cry,
Carry the lass that’s born to be free
Over the sea to home.
Over the sea to home.
All the crew listed enraptured and Kallicrates ordered “up oars”. Now the ship drifted silently. Odyssus asked where she had learnt to sing and whether she was a handmaiden to Apollo, to which Ione replied that she had learned in the Temple of Apollo in Hemeroskopeon, and by his grace was still pure in mind and body.
She then commanded the crew: “Hark me Greeks — and mark my words! On this ship and off it, tell no-one of Hemeroskopeon or Ione!” She put the power of command in her voice as Agripinus can, and she obviously had the holy power of a priestess.
She told the crew that she had agreed to go to Carthage and tell of the murder and enslavement of her people. She then asked the crew to swear an oath to say nothing of Hemeroskopeon or Ione. One by one all the Greeks came up and swore by Apollo, and so did Si’Aspiqo and I. She looked them all in the eye as they swore and looked much less demure and unassuming than she had when we had met her at the compound of Jonas.
Kallicrates walked by and whispered, “good job that we got rid of the roof tiles!”.
Agripinus turned to Ione, “thanks for doing that so surreptitiously”, he said with a grin.
Ione considered and then gave him a quizzical smile. “The crew are Greek; you can leave them to me”. She then turned and looked back eastwards and watched that horizon for the rest of the day.
I helped with the rowing and am finally getting the hang of it. Southwards we caught glimpses of the African shore, so we had to be approaching the narrows at the uttermost end of the Blessed Sea. Towards the end of the day Si'aspiqo listened to the conch and heard only peaceful waves; Kallicrates decided to drift at night, hoping for the wind to change for the morning.
The night was uneventful; just before dawn Ione came to stand alongside Amphius and then sang a short song to Apollo to greet the sun. Agripinus and I spent some time practicing our Greek with Ione. She seemed strong in mind and spirit with an inner toughness.
Today there was a light wind from the north and the rowers could rest. Soon we all saw high ground ahead to the north and then to the south too and the sea narrowed. Ione called: “Behold — the Pillars of Herakles, named by the Greeks 700 years and taken by Carthage 400 years ago. Now they are the Pillars of Melkart”. She explained that the whole mighty rock was sacred ground to Melkart and there were tunnels beneath it leading to the underworld. She reminded the crew to take care to keep their promise to Apollo.
As we drew nearer to the great rock, we saw a lot of small boats even though the port was not in sight. We spotted a column of smoke from a signal fire on the southern tip of the rock and the fishing boats clustered together. A dolphin came alongside and was soon joined by a second and a third all playing in the bow foam. As we closed on the tip of the rock, they veered off and called at us. We threw some mackerel at them, which they scoffed, and then continued to call; asking us to follow it seemed. Agripinus feared we were being led astray as our way lay westward beyond the tip of land according to the pilot.
Many of us were in favour of following the dolphins, but Ione determined that although there was no sign of evil, she believed they were servants of Melkart. We tacked out to sea to round the rock and then rowed north along the coast to Kart.
We passed the lookout tower with a signal fire on the tip and saw that the rock was not so sheer on the western side. We could see the smoke of the settlement a mile or two ahead. There were a handful of buildings on the rock itself along with many verdant green plants. There was a stone building and a shrine or monument near the top and a larger building in the north-western corner which could be a temple.
We were met by a multi-purpose Carthaginian ship full of marines. As the rock joined the mainland there was a bay fed by a river where the small town of Kart stood. There was a mole out into the bay, a small lighthouse, wooden quays, and some slips with boats drawn out of the water.
We were hailed from the ship and asked, “What ship is this and what is your business in Kart?”.
Agripinus gave his name and explained that we were trading and sought to buy goods and slaves and return via the southern coast to Carthage. We were told to anchor off the slip and await the pilot.
A smaller boat soon arrived, and the pilot clambered aboard. He was surprised to see a Greek crew. He explained the options and charges for our stay and Agripinus and Kallicrates chose to stay in the main harbour which would be storm proof and had better security.
The pilot, Bodo, exclaimed that there was still a Greek quarter in Kart and although there was some historic bad feeling, the Greek crew should not be a problem, it was just he hadn’t seen a Greek crew for a while. He was in his late thirties or early forties and had lived all his life in Kart and was able to tell us about the town.
The town was surrounded by a wall with warehouses and factories outside the town walls towards the quays. Then to the south-east of Kart was a large shanty town, which extended past the slips – we hadn’t seen such a large shanty town at any of the other towns along the coast. We rowed in and moored close to a stone stairway by mid-afternoon. Agripinus thanked Bodo and gave him a gold coin.
The priest asked for a guide and explained we were looking to buy and sell here. Bodo agreed to send a relative who would guide us for a similar fee to his own. He explained there was a market for provisions in the morning and then once the second, noon bell, sounded people would sleep and then another bell rang, and the bazaar opened for the evening. Tables for food and drink would be set out after an hour or two. When the fourth bell sounded the bazaar closed and entertainment began. If we stayed out after the fourth bell, we would need our own lights and to go armed. He blamed this on ne’er-do-wells from the shanty town. He said that the poor lived there, and these were of mixed races and were not citizens.
He explained that there was a town guard, and every male citizen did military service. The town was governed by a council of elders. There was a large temple to Melkart, one of the biggest in the world he told us proudly — only the one in Gadir was bigger. There were shrines to Baal, and in the Greek quarter were the crumbling stones of a Greek temple.
Bodo left and about 90 minutes later a younger Carthaginian named Gisgo, a man in his late 20s, arrived. Kallicrates organised the crew into two groups to have half on board while the other half went for refreshments in the Greek quarter, but then he accompanied the rest of us to explore the town before letting the first group leave. Ione stayed on board keeping a low profile although she told Agripinus that she would like to go to the market the next day to buy some clothes. He gave her 10 gold pieces to spend. Amphius also stayed on board. I took belt weapons and a torch but did not put on my armour.
After a few minutes Gisgo exclaimed, “That’s a girl! … and she’s armed”, and the dockers started goggling. He started questioning Toxoanassa, but Agripinus told him she was our trusted companion and urged him to guide us on. We went in through a fortified gateway to a main street and passed the marketplace, a substantial temple, and then a minor shrine to Baal. Gisgo pointed out the Greek quarter and at Kallicrates’s request led us in and found a small run-down tavern. The houses here were quite a lot older than elsewhere. There was a crumbling temple with creeping weeds and patchwork repairs.
We returned to the market area where some of the food stalls had started. There were cloth merchants, leather workers and the banging of a smith. There was extensive trade here and then a large, covered area for the bazaar, which had not yet opened. Gisgo showed us a couple of quite fine wine houses, which would be ready to serve at around eight, two or so hours after the bell. He explained that clothes and other manufactured goods were for the afternoon market, while fresh food and produce was for sale in the cool of the morning. Once the bazaar started there would be herbs and spices for sale, strange things from the sea, healing, fortune telling and tattoos.
Gisgo showed us the city wall and the prominent buildings, including where the council of elders met. He mentioned the famous rock and gardens and temple – the pride of the city. Agripinus asked if there was a route to the top as there must be a fantastic view from there. Gisgo told us that pilgrims did go to the top. In induced dreams the pilgrims could see what they wanted, even talk to family who had passed, he explained. All was arranged by the Temple of Melkart – pilgrims had to go the main temple and then they were taken to the rock temple for a cleansing ceremony and a night walk to the top, to commune with the spirits of the dead and greet the dawn. Gisgo explained that all worshippers of Melkart did the pilgrimage at least once in their life.
Kallicrates arranged with Gisgo to leave us at one of the fine taverns and then go back to the ship and guide him and the first half of the crew back to the Greek quarter. Gisgo could then return to meet the rest of us at the winehouse.
Meanwhile, we walked around to see Kart for ourselves. After 30 minutes there was a loud bell from the temple, the bazaar opened and lots of stalls set up. There were many small stalls and shops close together. Someone tried to cut Mago’s purse, but he slapped them away and shouted and they ran off. Then someone poked Toxoanassa most inappropriately and she took out a dagger and brandished it. She noticed that someone had used the diversion to slit her pouch and she had lost some money. She raced into the throng after the jostler, gripping her dagger and I rushed after her…
From Sammus’s Boast:
Toxoanassa raced into the throng after the jostler, gripping her dagger and I rushed after her. Mago and Agripinus followed more slowly, while Si'aspiqo cast a spell, enabling him to make his way after everyone unnoticed.
The thief started to pull away from Toxoanassa and I, but a figure in the crowd tripped the thief and then pulled a short-sword and used the point to force the thief up against a stall. Moments later Toxoanassa and I joined them. The stranger was tall and thin with a dark complexion and beard. He was dressed in a grey cloak with a long dark purple robe underneath and held a long thin short-sword pointed at the adam’s apple of our quarry. He introduced himself as Baal-Shaq, a Carthaginian citizen.
The thief claimed he was being pursued for no reason, but Toxoanassa and I explained what had happened and Toxoanassa showed her slashed and empty purse. The bystanders and stall holders looked on, but they all held their tongue and looked at Baal-Shaq with respect. “My friend”, he said, “you have three choices: go with me to the temple of Baal and swear on the burning metal that you had nothing to do with the theft; ask for mercy from your victim; or confess and exchange your hand for the ring on your finger.”
The thief did not want to go to the temple and face a trial of burning iron, and offered to buy his hand, which would otherwise be forfeit, for his gold ring. Toxoanassa examined the ring and thought it might be of similar value to the contents of her purse, so she agreed. Baal-Shaq said to the thief, “Today you are in luck — go back to Shanty Town and don’t let me catch you here again.”
Baal-Shaq was even slightly taller than myself and looked like he might be Nubian, for he was very dark in complexion indeed. He turned to us and said, in low Greek, “Welcome to Kart – though it is not a very good welcome. I can see you are from far away.”
We thanked him for his kindly intervention, and he explained that he was a citizen and some of his family had been in Kart since the Greeks, although his father’s family were from far away, and therefore the welfare of foreigners was near to his heart.
Baal-Shaq advised Toxoanassa to buy some Carthaginian dress and suggested that people here would respect a modestly dressed woman. He pointed to a stall in the market, but she declined, after thanking him for his suggestion. He directed us to a place to eat and stay and said he would return in an hour or two after some errands. It seemed that people kept out of his way as he left.
Agripinus secured a table for us, and we sat and drank some wine. After a couple of hours Gisgo arrived after having searched the market for us. Si'aspiqo asked our guide who Baal-Shaq was, and he explained that he was a trader and his family had been here for a long time. He was known to be very religious and travelled far into Africa in search of ivory. There were many stories of his travels, and he was a notable citizen. He worshipped Baal rather than Melkart. Gisgo was difficult to read but it was clear he had his own opinion of Baal-Shaq and seemed a little disconcerted. Agripinus told Gisgo he could go home as we would stay here and would not need a guide this evening. He arranged for us to meet Gisgo in the market square a couple of hours after the first bell the next morning.
Shortly after Gisgo left, Baal-Shaq arrived. He wore a purple robe with a wide leather belt with bronze fittings, a grey woollen cloak over his arm and carried a small leather handbag. He had very bright, piercing eyes. He confirmed that he traded ivory and explained that he took a trip to Africa every year across the Numidian desert. His father was from the far side to the south of the great desert. His father had saved Bomilcar, and then returned to Kart and married his only daughter Sophonisba. She was a devout woman, and on his birth Baal-Shaq had been consecrated to Baal.
Si'aspiqo explained that his own footsteps were guided by the Goddess. He had taken the chance to visit the utmost west and the place where spirits go when they die. Baal-Shaq replied that he respected any pilgrim travelled who had travelled so far. He added that he owed all his good fortune and prosperity to Baal.
Toxoanassa explained her reason for being here and Baal-Shaq listened carefully and respectfully to her. He told her that if she wanted to get to the top of the rock, she would have to take a Melkart pilgrimage, and as a follower of Baal, he wouldn’t ever do that. If she went to the temple of Melkart and was blessed and became a worshipper of Melkart, she could then take the pilgrimage to the top.
Si'aspiqo asked if it were possible to worship other Gods as well as Melkart and get a temporary dispensation to visit the high and holy place and Baal-Shaq explained that you would have to discuss your commitment to Melkart with the priest, but that if you went there and worshipped Melkart, then paid the sacrifice and learnt the prayers, he didn’t think there would be an embargo on worshipping other Gods for things that were in their purview. There would be an oath involved, so it was not something to be taken lightly. “Your word is your bond”, he added.
Agripinus told Baal-Shaq that he was a priest of Tanit and a fellow citizen of Carthage. He respected Baal-Shaq’s views and choice. The land required a variety of people with different faiths he explained.
Baal-Shaq spoke Punic, Numidian, low Greek and a tribal language from the faraway south. He spoke of his travels, including desert raiders and burning sands. Agripinus asked him about slaves and Baal-Shaq said that there had not been many come in to Kart recently and suggested that Gadir might be a better place to find them. He told us that Gadir was about five or six day’s sail away, although the wind was often from the west, which would mean a slower journey. The Demon Sea was alive he continued, and unlike the Blessed Sea, the sea rose and fell and there were often storms. There were also many strange creatures in the depths, much sought after by the wise and potion makers.
The bell rang to end the market and the stallholders began to pack up. Agripinus asked if a land route to Gadir were viable but, although Baal-Shaq had not traded there, he knew they would need Iberian guards through Turdetani lands and carrying anything heavy or returning with slaves would be difficult. He explained that he would be looking to go across to Africa in a few weeks and would be glad to go with us in our ship if we wished it. He then invited us to dine at his home the following day and gave directions. Before he left, Si'aspiqo lit his little lantern with a cantrip, and Baal-Shaq was impressed, saying “that is a remarkable and interesting ability”.
We were given a corner of the roof terrace overnight and the owner apologised for having no rooms left. The next morning, we met with Amphius back at the ship. He had met craftsmen keen to buy metals and had investigated the small, rather old and nearly ruined Greek temple, where there were shrines to the main Greek Gods including Apollo. Hearing this news, Ione expressed a wish to go there.
Ione and Toxoanassa went with Agripinus and bought some clothes in the market and then Amphius took Ione, Toxoanassa and Si'aspiqo and introduced them to Diodorus the Greek priest at the temple. Toxoanassa made a sacrifice to Artemis, while Ione handed over all she had to the priest and was shown to the main shrine which was to Apollo, where she said her prayers.
After the third bell Mago tried to sell the head of the Ketos, in the bazaar. Si'aspiqo found a suitable shop, “Potions from the Demon Sea”, where there were large, dried things hanging up, some with tentacles as long as a man. Mago was given a choice of swapping the head for other alchemical things or for cash. When he opted for cash, Mago was offered 100gp, which he declined. Si'aspiqo did buy a few alchemical ingredients there before we left for dinner at the house of Baal-Shaq.
From Sammus’s Boast:
That evening Gisgo guided Agripinus, Si'aspiqo, Amphius, Toxoanassa, Mago, Kallicrates and myself through Kart to Baalshaq’s house. We were let through a wooden door on the street into a substantial house with fine things and servants. There was less obvious security than at the slave compounds, but we still had to leave our weapons in a hallway. We were greeted by Baalshaq and shown into the dining room where we were served a formal Carthaginian meal with multiple courses of delicious food.
Si'aspiqo asked Baalshaq about his experiences crossing the desert in Africa. Baalshaq told us that it took several months with some riding and a lot of walking. He had good relations with the Numidians, and they helped him get to the desert and the point where horses could go no further. He added that it was only practical in winter, with guides and with lots of water. Si'aspiqo mentioned camels, a creature that purportedly could go long distances with little water and Baalshaq had heard of them but said that they were not used in the desert there, adding that it was lucky the desert raiders didn’t know of them. He told us of creatures of the night, which could see in the dark and moved like men. There were many strange things in the deep desert, things like unusual stones that weren’t there the next time. He had his protections and explained that it was valuable to protect against the desert creatures. He was interested to learn of Si'aspiqo’s own protections. After passing through the burning sand to the far side there were people of his colour and darker and he could speak their language, for his father had taught him. There he traded for ivory, which he shared to pay his way back.
He explained that he would set off when it started to cool in Kart and his first stop would be the African colony of Abyla, which was the closest settlement to the southern pillar. Here the pillar was not part of the settlement unlike in Kart. It was an area where the locals did not go and was a wilderness hike from the settlement and was best done by day; it was wise to not be there at night. There were tales of pilgrims being plagued by monkeys which were a danger to wanderers. Amphius asked if there were monkeys here and Baalshaq told us that any here were smaller and not harmful and in any case were managed by the authorities.
Amphius asked how much of the top of the rock was enclosed and Baalshaq told us that the whole of the peninsular was managed by the temple of Melkart and there were warning markers and a path with a gate. There was no danger of straying onto holy ground inadvertently, it would take an act of will to enter and everything south of the barrier was sacred to Melkart including the hollow world below. It had been part of the religion for hundreds of years and was not a place he would go to as a worshipper of Baal. Amphius asked about shrines and Baalshaq said that he had a shrine to Baal, there were shrines to other Phoenician gods as well as the Greek ones in Kart.
We told Baalshaq of the slaying of the Ketos. He was interested and drew us all into the telling of the story. Si'aspiqo then told him how he had been spoken to by a dead sorcerer and how we had moved his casket.
Baalshaq told us that he had had to encounter creatures of night adding that he was lucky he was under Baal’s protection, while he glanced at his seal ring with the eye of Baal. It seemed his protection was based on religion and not ritual magic.
Si'aspiqo explained that we had met someone further east along the coast with looted grave goods – a follower of Melkart. He added that there were many such things buried in Egypt but getting them out of the ground and the out of the country was difficult. Baalshaq then talked of the lands beyond the desert, which were well populated and where ivory, gold, strange colourful feathers and bizarrely large eggs could be found. He had heard that it became wetter and wetter the further south you went.
Agripinus told him that if the timing worked with our return to Kart, we would be happy to take him across to Africa. We would look him up when we returned and extend an offer if he was still here. Baalshaq said that some people in Kart believed that foreigners who were not citizens were of no account, but he was not of that opinion. Agripinus thanked him and told him that he had enjoyed their discussion in pleasant company despite the difference in religion. By now it was about one in the morning; we said our farewells and Amphius guided us safely back to the ship.
The next day Si'aspiqo and I went to temple of Melkart and handed over 10gp each and were given a short tour and then an explanation of the pilgrimage by a priest of Melkart. We were told that Melkart was the lord of the underworld, who allowed communication with ancestors, and was all powerful in these parts. He told the story of Melkart and his glory. The priest was proud of the pilgrimage of 7,000 steps.
If a pilgrim were not already dedicated to Melkart they could be converted to join the temple by a donation of 20gp and a ceremony. It was 10gp for a ceremony and then the ascent. Pilgrims needed to know the mystery of Melkart and had to be true adherents, a scholarly interest was insufficient. Apostates and unbelievers were not permitted to walk on steps with a penalty of exile or death depending on the seriousness of the transgression.
He explained that pilgrims were taken to the special temple for a cleansing ritual and then led along paths that wended their way through gardens to the sacred landmarks and shrines. The pilgrims would then pray at each shrine, with the aim of reaching the shrine of the ancestors at midnight. Pilgrims then returned at dawn. Special robes were provided. Many people came to Kart for this reason alone he said. The priest was very convincing in trying to convert us to Melkart, but we resisted.
Amphius and Toxoanassa went to the Greek temple and made a sacrifice. They both prayed to Artemis for a successful outcome of Toxonassa’s quest and for the luck of the Gods to follow them.
When we had all returned, Si'aspiqo and I passed on what we had learnt of the pilgrimage and mentioned the need for pilgrim robes. Amphius asked Mago to buy some suitable robes and 20 local arrows for him and Toxoanassa to share.
Mago bought the robes and arrows and then he and Si'aspiqo tried again to sell the Ketos head. The magician found a suitable place and Mago sold the head for 300gp and Si'aspiqo bought some more alchemical ingredients.
Kallicrates moved the Morning Breeze out of the harbour and hove to, while Mago bought a brand-new dinghy for 70gp. It could hold three people including the rowers. Kallicrates agreed that it would be suitable to be secured to the deck when we set sail. Agripinus explained that Amphius and Toxoanassa were doing extra trades that he didn’t wish to be involved in and that the ship needed to be ready to depart on their return. Mago then rowed them ashore in the dinghy and left them to complete the quest. He then returned, alone, to the ship.
From The Oiorpata Amazon’s Tale:
With Amphius and myself aboard, Mago rowed his newly acquired skiff from the Morning Breeze to the shore south of Kart. He wished us luck as we clambered on to the shore and he headed off into the darkness.
The night was dark with only a sliver of a moon before dawn, ideal for our purposes and for Amphius’s altered vision, but more of a problem for me moving around. As we made our way inland from the beach, we crossed an obvious path, but could see no sign of people on it or approaching it so we carried on our own way inland to the East, with me following quite literally and to the best of my ability in Amphius’s footsteps.
We came to a set of poles which were stuck upright in the ground and set in an East-West configuration. Then we realised that these poles were topped with a skull and we had the very strong eerie impression that the skulls were watching us. This impression intensified when we spotted piles of skulls on the ground set at regular intervals among the poles. When we tried to pass between the poles we found that our courage failed us. After trying a few places Amphius did manage to summon the will to jump between the poles, but I could not and so we abandoned the effort and moved further East along the line of poles. Unfortunately we could find no way through and had to retrace our footsteps to the West along the line of poles and piles of skulls. Eventually we came to a covered gateway in the pole line and after Amphius had checked carefully to ensure there were no obvious watchers or guards we passed through the gateway.
Inside the gateway, I experienced an unearthly feeling of ill omen and foreboding such as I had not felt since Kaskator. It was as if an extra layer of gloom lay upon the land beyond the poles and skulls. There, we found two paths, one leading to a temple building and the other heading South. We avoided the buildings and took the other path which was running parallel to the shore. We had not gone very far when we spotted a light meandering its way in our direction. As it got closer we realised with a shiver down our spines that it was a will ’o the wisp so we left the path and carried on our way eastwards, followed by the uncanny wisp. Amphius started to be able to make out carved stones and shadows all around us in the gloom and we realised that we were in a necropolis. Then one of the clots of darkness started moving towards us in a purposeful manner and attacked Amphius. I had been carrying my bow unstrung in the guise of a staff so attempted to restring it while Amphius was fighting with his sword. Unfortunately in the darkness I was struggling to restring my bow, much to my dismay, and so I attacked the Ghoul with my daggers. Amphius succeeded in putting an end to the monstrosity, but had taken some damage himself though not enough to hinder him. We continued on our way through the necropolis with care and though we did attract some more wisps we did not see any more Ghouls.
Eventually we came upon a path which had steps heading up the Rock and which we took to be the Path of 7,000 Steps. As we stepped on to the Path the preternatural air of gloom and foreboding lifted slightly, so we decided to follow the Path upwards. The uncanny wisps which had been following us started to fall behind us somewhat but we kept our bows strung and Amphius kept a watchful eye on our surroundings.
After a few hundred yards of ascent on the Steps we came to a sharp right turn and a stone bench with carvings on it which Amphius thought were Punic lettering. Since neither of us could make out the symbols we pressed on upwards. Over the edge of the Rock Amphius spotted what looked to him like another Ghoul scrambling up the hill towards us though I could detect nothing. With his cat’s-eyes Amphius was able to shoot it and soon declared its demise.
After a few more hundred yards of ascent we came to another switchback turn with another carved bench on the corner. We concluded the stairs were rising in a zigzag formation from north to south. The zigzags were occurring at shorter intervals as we rose higher. Amphius could see the views around us and even I could see lights far below us from the direction of Kart. Amphius could see white caps on the sea far below off to the side. Then I stumbled in the dark and tumbled down several steps. Feeling a bit battered and bruised we rested for a few minutes before pushing on upwards. Once again I missed my footing on the stairs and fell back, requiring another rest break for a few minutes.
We pressed on up again and finally came to a longer stretch of stairs along a ridge which ended at the summit. On the summit was a cairn of pale stones. I looked around for any signs of other stones I could readily pick up without disturbing the cairn. There were some bushes, but upon inspecting those we detected some sort of homunculi lying on the ground at the base of the bushes. These creatures were lying still and quiet and appeared to be asleep and I was loathe to wake them lest they prove to be some sort of guardian demons. I reluctantly reverted to the cairn and picked up one of those stones, with my heart in my mouth. However, nothing reared up out of the cairn to reclaim the stone and the homunculi remained quietly in their positions under the bushes so, having secured the stone to my belt, we quickly headed for the stairs to retrace our steps downwards.
On the descent I put my hand on Amphius’s shoulder so that we could proceed at a reasonable pace. We had, by this time, been on the move for a few hours though neither of us knew exactly how long. However, as Amphius looked down the stairs he could see torch lights near the temple complex and they seemed to be making their way towards the steps. We decided to carry on and make as much progress as possible, then step off to the side and hide should we see pilgrims approaching. At one point on the descent we came to a convenient gully off to the side of the steps with some scrubby bushes for cover. There we waited for the pilgrims to pass us. A single person drew near carrying a lantern on a stick. As he passed by our hiding place we could see his anxious face as he looked around. We could also see a wisp following him. As we waited, concealed, pilgrims passed us by in small groups of ones and twos, each with their lanterns swinging on sticks, each looking nervous and some followed by wisps.
We knew that the pilgrims would be aiming to reach the summit by dawn and so we needed to press on with as much speed as we could safely muster if we were to regain the shore by dawn. When at last all the pilgrims had passed, we moved on with haste.
As we neared the bottom of the stairs Amphius spotted a Ghoul and tried shooting at it, as did I. Unfortunately it moved out of sight and started a horrible ululation. By this time there was the first dim trace of morning light in the eastern sky. We made our way past the temple complex as quickly as we could as more Ghouls started to appear. We could see the gateway ahead of us on the far side of open ground so we raced towards it followed by a pack of howling Ghouls. At the gateway the Ghouls gathered and continued to mewl and mutter but appeared unable to cross beyond the barrier.
Meantime Amphius grabbed me, threw me over his shoulder and made a dash for the beach. I was momentarily shocked and not a little outraged by this ignominious treatment, but looking up I could see the predawn lightening the sky and getting brighter by the moment. Since time was of the essence I submitted to the indignity without demur. We arrived at the beach without further incident, whereupon I got a fire going, lit an incendiary arrow and fired it out to sea as the previously agreed signal for a pick up.
After an anxious, seemingly endless wait on our part, Mago appeared in his small skiff to carry us back to the Morning Breeze, with one precious white stone from the summit. I felt very grateful to Amphius for his willing aid and his keen eyesight and to the Greek gods for their protection. By dawn’s early light we climbed aboard, battered and bruised but victorious.
****
From Sammus’s Boast:
As soon as Mago rowed Toxoanassa and Amphius back to the Morning Breeze, Agripinus let Kallicrates know we should leave immediately. Kallicrates was a little surprised by the hurry, but he ordered the dinghy to be lashed to the deck and as the ship was prepared Toxoanassa related her tale to her companions. We were underway around dawn on a fair day.
There had been two multi-purpose Carthaginian merchant ships in the anchorage, which had come in late in the afternoon, probably too late to get into port, along with a flotilla of smaller fishing vessels, which left at the same time as us, but were soon left behind.
Si'aspiqo tried to determine weather, using the conch, but received little information. After an hour or two we turned to the west and rowed steadily into the wind, with Ione looking to the east, watching the rising sun. As Si'aspiqo looked back he observed a lot of movement on the path from the temple to the rock but couldn’t see any details. The rowers were singing to keep time, but it was hard work rowing into the wind, and I took a turn at an oar to help. Odysseus said the wind was more often from the west and it was notoriously difficult to get out into the Demon Sea. In the afternoon a Carthaginian trading ship raced past towards Kart with the sails set, a mile or two south of us, driven by the wind and tide.
As evening approached Kallicrates explained that we had two choices: head into shore to beach the ship, which looked difficult as it was a rocky shore with no sign of a sandy beach; or to put up a tiny sail and run on the wind from the northwest, which would drive us back away from our destination. At Agripinus’s suggestion we headed instead towards the coast to try to anchor and hold position overnight. Agripinus sang a hymn to Tanit to bless this venture and we ran in close enough to drop anchor – it was not stuck firmly but was holding for now. Si'aspiqo checked the weather again using the conch and thought there was more wind on the way.
In the middle of the night Si'aspiqo awoke with a start. He said that there were bad omens, and he did not think we would be able to go further west. By the light of Toxoanassa’s stone he could see larger and larger waves far off to the West. He feared the wind would soon come from the south and push us onto shore. He thought we should get offshore heading eastward at full speed as a storm was coming. He checked the weather via the conch again and this confirmed his impression, it seemed there was a storm coming from the south. He told Kallicrates and then Ione awoke and agreed that a storm was coming; she told the crew to get out to sea in Greek in a commanding voice.
I helped haul up the anchor and as we set off the wind veered to come first from the southwest and then the south. Kallicrates steered to the southeast and we managed to pull away from the coast. By dawn we had lost an oar, but we had a spare one and there were no other mishaps, apart from a few bruises to the crew. Everything was lashed down as the waves grew higher. By now we were a mile or two out to sea and could see the entrance to the narrows and the African coast to the south.
Si'aspiqo had a vision of a great staircase of waves, each getting higher to the west. His guidance from the spirit world was to point the boat back to the light of Apollo and into the Blessed Sea to the east. Ione had a similar view. Kallicrates said, “you ignore portents at your peril” and added that we could either run like we were along past Kart and then turn to head up the coast to Abyla or push out to the west to Tingis and Agripinus suggested we should try heading to Abyla.
The Morning Breeze sailed briskly to the east and soon Kart was in sight. By noon we had passed the port. Late in the afternoon Si'aspiqo used the conch to check the weather and it seemed the strong wind was set for a while. Mago spotted a cape to the south and at this point the coast changed from running east to west and slightly north to head directly south. Kallicrates ordered the sail dropped and replaced by a small one which would hold enough wind to keep the ship pointed east overnight. The crew were grateful for Si'aspiqo’s warning the previous night – without setting off when we had, the Morning Breeze would probably have been driven onto the rocks.
At dawn Si'aspiqo thought the weather was improving. The wind was still from the south but had dropped and the waves were smaller. A little later in the morning a gentle cooler wind from the north began and Kallicrates raised the sails. The wind rose and by midday was blowing quite strongly. By the end of the afternoon we saw the settlement, port and harbour ahead.
Late on the afternoon of 29th September we moored in Abyla, in an anchorage a little way from the shore. Abyla was much less impressive than Kart. Kallicrates had been here once, but Odysseus had not been here at all. Kallicrates said it was an African port, although there were a few Carthaginians there, most people were of African tribes, including some Western Numidians.
From Si'aspiqo’s Wheezings:
… aboard the Morning Breeze as we bobbed at anchor on the coast of Iberia somewhere west and north of Kart, following our departure from the said port westwards in notional pursuit of the slaver ships from the Hemeroskopeion raid, which we believed to have preceded us by some weeks.
There was debate about the safety of the anchorage and how the weather would turn, in the face of our general distaste for losing any of our exhaustingly won westward progress. This was it seemed, precarious should the wind shift, but better than trying to hold place by oars alone, close by a coast, in the dark.
I was considering, with little enthusiasm, a night’s intermittent bailing so that others might rest after the day rowing into the relentless west wind, but then a veritable messenger of the gods came to my rescue in the form of the Oiorpata, Toxoanassa, with an offer to let me sleep with her new favourite pet rock.
This pale pebble from the proud pillar of Melkart, prominently placed and perilously protected, was prised by the plunderer in pursuit of her pledge — by the practices of the pony-peoples — to perfectly perform promises of a previous progenitor.
Given where it came from she posited properties of possible puissance pertaining particu— A-hem. She thought it might be as well for it to be slept on in a mindful manner and that I was, of course, the man for the job. Well it was a better offer of work for our company’s benefit than bailing all night.
So I slept on it, with some difficulty because when I closed my eyes the dark pressed in, not as my old friend, but a swirling thing wherein I was buffeted up and down and down and up. Eventually though there was a degree of stability and a light in the darkness, with a strange quality as of first or last light when the colours of the world do not show. A profound greyness illuminated my world.
This light escaped from under the sacking upon which I pillowed my head (never mind that I had rested my head on a bundle of rope in the waking world). From under this pillow I pulled Toxoanassa’s stone and saw the Morning Breeze, its crew and passengers in the grey gleaming. None of the watch-keepers were aware of me except for the the statuesque woman standing at the stern with her hair streaming in the wind, looking back east. Standing by her, suddenly as happens in dream, I recognised Ione, the Hemeroskopeion temple maiden. I could see a faint gleam in the east and she spoke, “There is Apollo’s last light. If we go west we will lose even that, and out there,” she pointed west without looking around, “is the storm.”
And I looked and there were the storm waves marching towards us, the further waves bigger than the waves in front of then until in the darkness of the far distance it seemed they merged with the dark sky and the eternal chaos of the primal dark.
Looking around, closer, it seemed to me also that the wind itself was veering to the south. The rocks of the north shore were taking on the appearance of teeth ready to crush and rend any floating thing the wind might toss into the maw.
I woke with a start and scrabbled for the conch, murmuring the cantrip of weather opening, “I am Amun. I breathe the sweet air into my nostrils. My nostrils inhale the goodly wind without its ever leaving...”. Immediately I heard the faint rasp of the grains blown towards us from the great south sand and the crash of waves on rocks close behind me...
Calling my alarm to wakeful and half dozing comrades Kallicrates seemed doubtful at first, but I suppose I have a patchy record with weather — until Ione woke and spoke in terms of the enlightenment she has been vouchsafed by her sponsor deity. A close, perhaps even common, vision with mine, of course. Then it is all to oars until we are clear of the coast and can flee more or less east, as much as the wind permits.
It is days later, as the Morning Breeze rows rather than blows into Abyla that Ione and I find ourselves parked, out of the way of the sailors, on the same section of wale and can talk quietly about our meeting in the unseen world.
She saw me, that time on the offing of the Demon Sea. She saw me in dream, bearer of the gray light – I wonder as what, because what I saw of her was not the young lady we speak to day-to-day, but something more mature, greater. In her dream she could only look at, only see by, the light of the East, the light of Apollo. She could tell though that I could see further, into the West.
Her suspicion is that the ships that go westwards are under the protection, I might say perhaps the forbearance, of Melkart, her reasoning that He is the ultimate end for sailors on the Demon sea, waiting for them in the depths. She has profound doubts of our ability to penetrate the western seas; Apollo’s writ is stretched thin this far west and does not run beyond the Blessed Sea. There is no help through her from Him in the beyond. We have no priests of the bathytic gods to moderate Melkart’s will. She does not think the strongest arrow in our quiver, Tanit’s grace, is quite the tool we would need.
I note though, that I see in her signs of a close, uncomfortably close in mortals, link to her god. What did Apollo’s Temple at Hemeroskopeion make here I wonder? Who it is that is urging us to turn away from the west, and their motive, is unclear to me, but I do not think it was only Ione speaking to me.
—Si'aspiqo
From Sammus’s Boast:
We sailed towards the harbour of Abyla and saw wooden quays leading out of a riverbank and the smoke of a settlement. The architecture was similar to Teveste, but larger overall and with a few substantial stone buildings in the Carthaginian style. Immediately, I caught the smell of horses mixed with people. There was a horde of men shouting from the quayside, offering guides, translators, hospitality and goods for sale in a mixture of Punic and low Greek. Most of the men were in tribal dress. We were offered help unloading the boat and to trade. We picked a guide who had shouted about food and drink and claimed to have been as far east as Rusadir, a settlement a few days to the east. He was asked to get rid of the rest and he babbled at them in a Numidian dialect and the other men moaned and groaned and shouted some insults before drifting away.
Our guide introduced himself as Zegas, and while Kallicrates and the crew stayed on board, he led the rest of us into the settlement. Toxoanassa took the precaution of wearing a Numidian cloak to conceal her looks. There were armed men watching the harbour in groups of two or three, in Numidian dress, with daggers, truncheons and small shields. Zegas told us that they were Tamuda’s guards. Tamuda was the headman of the settlement; the settlement was now named Tamuda in his honour.
We were soon approached by a better dressed man who said that he had goods for sale. Agripinus spoke to him and explained that we were looking for the centre of town and somewhere to eat and drink and then to trade goods. The man said that he was Sallas, and his uncle Zachary was a merchant, and he would be happy to introduce us to him. Zegas tried to get us to follow to his cousin’s hostelry, but Sallas told him that he could take us there later.
We headed on to the north past a road to the left leading to the market and on towards several stone buildings. We soon arrived at a substantial house and were taken into a small courtyard. An older gentleman in much better Carthaginian dress introduced himself as Zachary, and Agripinus introduced himself and said it was good to get away from the crowd. Zachary said he was happy to meet a trader from Carthage. He switched from Punic to low Greek and bade us all welcome. He said his name was Zacharias Argerios, and I had heard that Argerios meant silver. We sat on stone benches and a few chairs that were brought out and we were served drinks.
He asked what cargo we brought to Tamuda and Agripinus explained that we had a variety of metal ingots. He told us that he traded for goods from beyond the desert to the south and along the coast and also sponsored commercial ventures. Agripinus told Zachary that we had met Baal-Shaq in Kart and Zachary professed to know him well. He explained that Tamuda was a good source of stone, and he would be happy to help make commercial deals for rough stone or polished stone.
Zachary explained that the settlement was built around ancient springs and that it was run by Western Numidians independent of Carthage. The lords of Tingis and Tamuda were rivals and Tamuda had defended the settlement well for a long while and hence it was now called Tamuda rather than the old name of Abyla. He said that Abyla was really the mountain to the north, and it was a very old name meaning ‘mountain of god’ or something like that.
Agripinus asked about the mountain, and Zachary made a superstitious sign and told us that it was not really a place to go to, the locals were particular about who went there and did not allow people to wander in their lands. There were stories of people going there and never being seen again. If we were interested, we would need to speak to Tamuda and would need guides. Zachary had seemed unsettled and flustered by our questions and once more referred to that place as ‘the mountain of god’.
Agripinus asked if there were temples in Tamuda. Zachary told us that he had his own house shrine, but there was no Carthaginian temple in the town. He talked of elephants and leopards in the high mountains to the South and other things from beyond the desert. He explained that it was easier for goods from the south to come here than Tingis, unless they were taken by boat. Agripinus thanked him for his refreshments and information and added that we hoped to do business with him soon, and then we made a polite departure.
Zegas was waiting outside and showed us through the Carthaginian quarter down a narrow street into the market square, where stalls were being packed up and then led us to an inn run by a man of Numidian or mixed descent, who was Zegas’s cousin. As evening fell, we were taken to the roof, where places were set, and we were served wine, water and plates of salted fish and treated as honoured guests. A couple of gold pieces were handed over and Zegas was invited to join us and thanked us profusely.
Over a number of cups of wine, Zegas explained that in times gone by the settlement had just been a trading point and hadn’t been fortified, but then Tamuda came and took the place over and defended them from other tribes. He had built the town walls and the north gate and revolutionised security, and in gratitude the town had been renamed. There had been a lot of territorial disputes, but these seemed now to be in the past; Tamuda had brought peace, prosperity and security to the town. Zegas babbled away of things to see and do in the High Atlas to the South — such as hunting lions and leopards. He hadn’t seen these things alive but had seen hides of leopards, striped hyenas and red foxes in the market, and he had eaten wild boar. He spoke of little monkeys on the sacred mountain and then mentioned elephants in the forested valleys of the Atlas Mountains and told of locals hunting hartebeest, lion and even ancient ox. He had heard that Carthaginians were offering a huge bounty for a live elephant; I knew that elephants were being trained by the military back in Carthage, although this was a secret, so I said nothing.
Si'aspiqo carefully explored the attitude to people of learning. Priests and those dealing with the spirit world were dealt with by the council. People generally followed the native gods and permission would be required from the council for any ceremonies in the city.
We were served Carthaginian wine, while the cooking went on below and then we had bread and oil, followed by freshly cooked chicken and lamb, goat on kebabs, and then a pot of traditional mealy porridge, which was spicier than in Teveste. The guide took advantage of his opportunity and ate and drank heartily.
We asked about the sacred mountain and Zegas told us that it was taboo to go there, and terrible things happened at night. People had gone there and never been seen again. It was full of caves with things inside that could tear a man apart. He made a sign against evil but told us if we were serious then we would need to seek permission and guides from Tamuda. He agreed to pass word that we wished to speak to Tamuda, although he could not promise what he might say in return. The landlord set up a tent over half the roof and servants brought up some bedding for us. Zegas left saying he would be back in the morning.
We were awoken by the hubbub of the town coming to life in the morning and headed back to the ship with Zegas, who seemed surprisingly unimpaired by a hangover, despite all he had eaten and drunk the night before. There was no sign of any trouble on the streets here, even though there was evident poverty. Groups of armed men in twos and threes were again in evidence as people tried selling their goods, while others asked for alms.
Later in the day we returned to the market to the smell of baking. There was fresh bread, salted fish, milk and some livestock. From one corner came the pounding of a blacksmith and from elsewhere came the smell of horses. There was also the smell of something organic, strong and quite pleasant and we realised someone was brewing beer of some sort. This was a domestic market, with all the goods seeming to come from the local area. There was no-one selling anything arcane or even any of the herbs or spices Si'aspiqo sought.
Zegas suggested Hamilcar, a general merchant in Carthaginian quarter, might have spices and herbs, but if Si'aspiqo only needed small quantities then maybe his cousin, the innkeeper, might be able to provide them. He added that hot spices and aromatic herbs came from the south. Zegas pointed out a much larger half built, fortified building, which was for Tamuda. We returned to the ship and Zegas took the Greek crew to feast and drink at his cousin’s inn. They returned at three in the morning escorted by torch bearers and some local security. Ione was the only person not to have gone ashore, which seemed prudent.
My companions and I each agreed to put in gold or items to the value of 20gp to act as a gift for Tamuda and Agripinus let Zachary know that he could have first refusal on a trade for our metal and about our wish to meet with Tamuda. Later that day Sallas arrived at the ship with news that Tamuda would see us mid-morning of the following day at his town house.
The next morning both Agripinus and I donned our armour, while our companions wore civilian clothes and Toxoanassa her Numidian cloak. We set off to the town house and on arrival were conveyed into a hall with many venerable Numidians, some guards and a large, impressive figure, with dark, silvered hair, and one blind eye who introduced himself as Tamuda. He asked us to present credentials and Agripinus named himself and all of us as his companions and gave him our gifts in greeting.
Agripinus told Tamuda that we were honoured to meet him directly. In return, he appreciated our gifts of welcome and noted that we had taken due note of his status. He was pleased to meet a noble from the sacred band of Carthage. He asked what brought us here and what we wanted. Agripinus introduced each of us in turn and explained that everyone had pointed at the mountain and told us that if we wished to visit the mountain of God, that it would be politic to seek his approval. Tamuda told us that it was generally forbidden to go there as the place was cursed and asked why we wanted to go there. From the way he spoke Arma, it was evident that he had spent some years in the Carthaginian army.
Agripinus indicated that Toxoanassa wished to go there, and she explained that she was a Scythian from the uttermost East following a family quest. Although a woman, she had taken the Numidian test of manhood in Teveste, and so was entitled to speak in council as a warrior. This led to much murmuring amongst the tribal elders, but Tamuda asked them directly and none would deny what she had said was the truth. With that settled, he nodded to her and said no more about it and pressed on in Arma.
Tamuda said that it was dangerous to go there as those who did often failed to return. There were things that lived below the mountain and ate people at night. However, he would support a trip if we took guides and returned by daylight. To keep our venture simple, he added that all life on the mountain was to be considered sacred from dawn to dusk. If we wanted to go at night, then he could not ask guides to go with us and we might never return. However, if we returned with heads of the unclean, he would consider this a service worthy of note. No-one had done this for a long time. When pressed, he explained that there were savage things there that might walk like men but were not men. They came from the underworld with a taste for flesh but were not ghouls or undead. They did not bother people by the light of day, but he would not ask guides to go up the mountain by night. He let us know that we would need to pay him 300 gold pieces for permission, and each guide would be paid 100 silver pieces, and we would have 2 guides each. If we chose to go up by night the guides would take us so far and no further, for the same price. If we survived, he would be grateful for any heads brought back and he would reward us in some way appropriate to our story.
So, we had a choice to make; Agripinus told Tamuda that we were pleased to hear of this support for our mission and would need time to consider our approach. With that we returned to the ship to think hard on what we should do next — try to dash by day or seek the danger by night.
From Sammus’s Boast:
We returned to the ship to discuss our options and agreed that we should attempt to climb the mountain during daylight; Toxoanassa could fulfil her quest and then we could all return before nightfall. Toxoanassa offered to pay the gold for our trip.
We finished our discussions around midday on October 1st and then returned to the administration centre to give our answer to Tamuda. Agripinus let him know we would follow his suggestions and pay him 300gp along with 100sp for each guide. He told us he would send his chief guide to the ship the following day to collect the money and make all the arrangements.
The next morning a silver-haired, older Numidian arrived and called out in Arma to speak to Agripinus. He looked to be in his fifties and introduced himself as Barak, Tamuda’s guide and Kallicrates invited him on board to chat.
Barak explained that we would be provided with ponies and one of Tamuda’s Spanish horses for me and we would set off as soon as the horses could see their hooves, on a fine day. Only a fool would go up Abyla in the rain, he added. We would ride to a camp and then follow a trail up from there leaving our mounts behind. Half the guides would remain at the camp, along with any who did not feel capable of the hard walk up the mountain. There would be a short break going up and another coming down, but the party could not wait for the slowest and anyone falling behind would be led back to the camp. If anyone fell at the top, then we might not get back before nightfall. Someone would only be left behind if staying with them would mean staying after dark. The party would carry water and little else – no-one should wear armour. It was perhaps 3 hours hard walking to the top and a further 2 hours back down and we would spend an hour at the top. Once we returned to the camp we would ride back to the town, returning just after dusk. Donkeys would be too slow, so everyone would need to ride ponies or a horse. Barak agreed that it would be wise for Si'aspiqo to stay in camp and added that soon he would not be able to complete the journey in a day himself.
Barak warned that there was no water to be found on the way up the mountain, although Agripinus explained that he had the power to create water. The Numidian explained that things lived in the mountain that eat flesh. They didn’t come far from the mountain as they had to be back underground by dawn. He referred to them as evil spirits and made a sign against evil. I think we all thought they sounded suspiciously like the darklings we had encountered in Kaskator. Barak spoke very fluently in Arma, as though he had spent some years in the Carthaginian Service and had also explained this process many times before. He told us to send word when were prepared and he would make the preparations. He would need two days’ notice. He told us to send word if we needed to ask more specific questions. He would convey the 300gp payment to Tamuda, and we would pay the guides when we started the expedition.
Kallicrates and Mago sold the rest of the metal ingots and made a profit of a third of the value. Altogether for an outlay of 1,000gp we had a profit of 415gp. Kallicrates spoke to Zachary and was introduced to Pumay-Yaton who would provide cut stone. Kallicrates thought he could get a good deal on stone here and was keen to take a cargo to Carthago Nova while we made preparation to ascend the mountain. After further discussions it was agreed that we would all fund a share of this and Agripinus and Amphius would travel on the ship with Kallicrates. Ione would go with them to be presented to Hanno and confirmed as a suitable witness. Si'aspiqo, Toxoanassa, Mago and I would remain in Tamuda.
We spoke to Zachary and arranged to rent a native house in the centre of town for a month. It was a rectangular block made of mud bricks with a flat roof above and some timber structures. There was a small backyard. All the incendiaries and related equipment were unloaded from the Morning Breeze and stored on the roof of the town house, along with Mago’s dinghy to provide more room for cargo on the ship.
Meanwhile wagon loads of stone were ferried from the quarry to the ship and loaded and preparations were made to leave. Mago and I took the weapons and armour we had taken from the pirates and traded them at the market. Traders did not have gold, but there were rare things from the mountains to the south and lots of livestock, especially goats and chickens. We managed to barter for two large gazelle horns, a well preserved, large colourful snakeskin from a viper with a black and two-tone grey pattern, a tanned hide of a leopard with very few marks and six sheep. Our guide, Zegas, arranged for us to receive two sheep per week and for his cousin to butcher them. Through Zegas we also hired a cook and a housemaid and then another cousin with his dog to act as a guard.
Amphius gave 10gp for the bronze mirror and 15gp for the brass reflector from the lighthouse and Agripinus gave 50gp for the signet ring. 75gp were shared amongst the six of us, giving 12gp and the remaining 3gp went to expenses.
The Morning Breeze was ready to sail on 5th October…
From Sammus’s Boast:
The morning of October 5th was bright and sunny, with a fair wind from the south-west, which filled the sails of the Morning Breeze as she cleared Tamuda harbour and headed north towards the Iberian coast. Those of us waving goodbye from the quayside noted how low she rode in the water, fully laden with a cargo of stone bound for Carthago Nova. Best not to make any mistakes at the helm, we thought; but Agripinus had blessed their voyage, and the winter storms were surely still far off. With fair winds, they should be back in a fortnight…
Tamuda appeared a fairly peaceful place to pass a few days — the locals were eager to supply whatever the wealthy visitors needed to pass the time. The Western Numidians were just as keen on riding as the Eastern Numidians we had met before, and so Toxoanassa and I could hire a pony and even a horse to ride out around the town and take part in various games of skill with the locals. As ever, Toxoanassa's acrobatics on horseback were appreciated by the tribal audience, and I made small work of their game of handball, being twice the weight of most of the locals. Mago and Si'aspiqo followed more studious pastimes: the Kushite always pondering some scroll or scrap of parchment, although he found time sample the local ale with me; the Islander chuckling as he poured molten lead into small stone moulds he had carved.
As guests of the warlord, no trouble came to our door. The hubbub of the town became a new routine, and even the smell of horses seemed to fade with time. The nights were dark and quiet, and for a while peace settled over the heart of each traveller.
So, October passed in leisurely pursuits — a few days of rain were followed by a week of cloudy weather, then the sun shone brilliantly for a day before four days of rain, showers and finally a sea-mist washed the streets of Tamuda clean again. Another week of cloudy weather, with barely a whole day of sunshine, showed that the wet season had come at last and soon the sailing days of the year would draw to a close.
Life here was not dissimilar to what I was used to back home and I learnt some words of Berber and made some friends and the locals seemed to have accepted Toxoanassa; we rode out often to explore the local area. I managed to hone my skills with a javelin. One day Si'aspiqo asked to come with us for an arcane experiment in peace and quiet north of town and over a couple of days did some minor experiments which seemed to involve setting things on fire.
There was still no sign of the Morning Breeze, although no storms had raged in the narrows. At last, the sun broke through the clouds, and warmth returned to the streets of Tamuda, and the ground hardened quickly once more. On the 30th day of October a local rushed in with news of a Greek ship approaching the harbour, and the Morning Breeze returned at last, tacking across a north-westerly wind and rowing into the harbour in mid-afternoon.
Kallicrates greeted us all at the quayside, but there was no sign of our companions. As we went aboard for a more private conversation, he gave his news:
"Hanno took them all to Carthage in a warship — all very hush-rush. I am to meet them back in Carthago Nova a fortnight hence. A chance for another trade voyage before the season closes! Those Carthaginians are keen for our stone, and I have brought a light cargo back here to offer Tamuda. If the gods are with us, we should have plenty of coin for a winter of ease — gold looks like it goes a long way round here. Let's get ashore and get some wine, I could drain an amphora!"
Kallicrates looked up from his third Kylix of imported wine and said:
"Profit… depends how this light cargo goes. We should be up at least one-third. If Tamuda wants what we have brought back, we may clear a half share each. I may have to leave some of it for Mago to sell if it takes too long to get buyers for everything. I need to get more stone loaded and get back to Carthago Nova in a fortnight. If we get a wind from the East, we won't have any time to spare. We were a bit heavy in the water last time, so I might go a little lighter back again. So, let’s roll round the original shares again, and settle up all the profits when we get back next time. But… [drains kylix]… worry about that tomorrow. If you need some cash in the meantime, I can pay an advance and reckon it out at the end… Hey, where's the food? We are starving over here!"
And the Greeks made merry in the local hostelry. Hopefully someone was guarding the ship…
Toxoanassa saw no good reason to spend a fortnight aboard a cramped boat rather than riding her pony and looked towards the mountain wistfully. Mago and I agreed we would accompany her, and we decided we would make the attempt now, rather than wait for the return of our companions when the rainy season might have arrived. We let Barak know that we were ready to go to the mountain on the next suitable day. Si'aspiqo told us he would accompany us as far as the base camp.
The Morning Breeze had a light cargo with second-hand Carthaginian armour and ropes and baskets made from some sort of grass from Spanish interior and Kallicrates sold the armour to the tyrant of Tamuda but left the rest for Mago to deal with. Then he bought a cargo of stone to take to Carthago Nova, which was loaded over the next few days. We had three days of rain followed by a quite violent gale and Kallicrates was glad to be in harbour. The 4th November was clear and Si'aspiqo foresaw no storm in the offing and no coming change in the weather, so, noticeably higher in the water this time, the Morning Breeze set out once again.
As the ground was drying fast, Barak gave the go ahead for the following day and found gentle aged ponies for Mago and Si'aspiqo, while Toxoanassa and I would ride our usual mounts; we all arose before dawn the next morning and set out. The sun came up after a couple of hours on a cloudy day with a wind from the East and we could see the mountain ahead. The trail was easy to follow and after a few hours we turned north towards an arm of the mountain, where a spur headed to the south from the main ridge. We crossed a line of boundary stones and reached a kraal similar to the one he had used outside Kaskator. There was a low outer wall with a campsite inside. Around the kraal were scattered pale stones daubed with paint. Our guides paired off, each pair throwing daggers into the air until just one stuck in ground. The winners took cloaks, daggers, javelins and some bottles of water, while the losers prepared to stay in the kraal with the magician. Barak did not take part in the competition; he also carried a falcata. Si'aspiqo spoke to Barak and then added his sigils of protections without disturbing the existing ones on the pale stone markers. Toxoanassa, Mago and I were each given an extra water bottle and we were setting off up the mountain before mid-morning. I had removed my armour, but Toxoanassa still wore hers, which caused much muttering amongst the guides.
After an hour of climbing the steep trail, Mago was exhausted, and his guide led him slowly back to the kraal. After a further hour of tiring weather Toxoanassa was forced to remove her armour and leave it beside the path to be collected on our return.
After another hour of steep ascent, we reached the summit, by which time Toxoanassa was completely exhausted and had drunk all the water in both her bottles; one of the guides gave her a spare. We were grateful that the climb wasn’t in the heat of summer. One of our guides was also very tired but the other guides, Barak and I were still in good shape.
As we rested and caught our breath, Toxoanassa and I looked around at the panoramic view. We could see across the narrows to the pillar of Melkart, to the north, even though it wasn’t a clear day. To the south we could see the road between Tamuda and Tingis. The earth looked brown down below the mountain, but here it was bare, rocky ground with a few scattered aromatic weeds; I took a sample for Si'aspiqo. I could see seabirds and some hawks and then down the slope, off to the east some large gazelles.
Toxoanassa looked around for a suitable, red rock, but only found scattered rocks of dark grey, with a few traces of red, although she did spot a small pit. She asked Barak for help, and he asked what she was looking for and when she explained, he smiled grimly and told us that once, on this summit, there had been a strange pillar of rock that bled in times of portent. In his grandfather’s grandfather’s time, a ship had come from the north and people from it had scaled the mountain at night and fire had been seen on the summit from Tamuda. When his people scaled the mountain in the morning, they found the pillar gone and the area around it had been burnt. The ship had left and headed toward Kart. No bodies had been left behind, but the area was stained with what might have been blood. Since that day, Abyla has been cursed — for those that dwell within have not forgotten.
Barak said that we had one hour to search. Toxoanassa gathered some dark grey stones with traces of red, but they felt broken to her. I found a piece of shattered rock with a more definite trace of red, which I gave to her. We looked at the pit. It went down about 5 or 6 feet below the level of the summit and there were marks around it that might have been made by tools and we surmised that the pillar had been prised out of here.
Barak said it was time to go and we set off downhill. It was much less tiring descending than the ascent had been, and we made more rapid progress. We picked up Toxoanassa’s armour and I carried it for her and after a couple of hours we walked back into camp. After just ten minutes of rest, we set off to ride back to Tamuda. Barak was in good shape, but the other guides were tired. Si'aspiqo asked about the denizens under the mountain, and Barak told him that the night-walkers rarely went past the white markers but stayed close to the mountain.
We rode back to Tamuda and apart from Si'aspiqo sliding off his pony at one point, we arrived without incident shortly before dusk. There was a tasty meal of barbecued sheep and mealy soup ready for us along with some of the local beer. Si'aspiqo thought the beer in Kush was better, but although it was very different from the beer I was used to, I thought it had a certain charm and the main thing was that it was alcoholic. Toxoanassa told us that it was nothing like fermented mares’ milk, but that didn’t seem to stop her consuming a large quantity. I was still awake when everyone else had gone to sleep and took another beer up on to the roof to gaze up at Abyla by moonlight.
The next day Toxoanassa gave some of the flecks of rock to Si'aspiqo to investigate. One fleck was mundane and uninteresting, but the larger one I had found, although it had no power or virtue, did remind him of something, perhaps a hint of something in Kaskator. Mayhap it was the redness or darkness of the stone.
Si'aspiqo looked hard at the pale stone from Kart and did some cantrips to see if there was any connection between it and the chips from here. After much concentration, he found some degree of link or relation of opposites between them. He thought it very likely the small trace of red was the right stuff as it, in some strange way, resonated with the pale stone.
We suspected that there might have been a bloodstone pillar on the mountain, similar to the one we had found in Kaskator, where the shadow lies. Maybe it had been dug out and taken to Kart and we speculated that it might be powering things there, maybe in the temple. We decided we would need to talk to Tamuda again and investigate the mountain and its denizens — but first we would have to wait for Agripinus and Amphius to return.
From the Diary of Agripinus:
The first few days of October were taken up with the loading of our joint cargo of fine stone onto the The Morning Breeze. The winds were favourable for the return to Carthago Nova and I performed a blessing for our safe passage on the dawn of our departure, the 5th October. With Kallicrates and his crew, Amphius and I intended to meet with Hanno and safely deliver our star witness, Ione, to him and secure our reward for the task.
The journey was uneventful and Amphius's night sight allowed good progress to be made in the sunless hours. To pass the time, we both improved our language skills, me by improving my Greek and Amphius by working on his Punic. On the 10th we landed in Carthago Nova and beached the ship. While preparations to get the cargo unloaded were made, we made arrangements to see Hanno, Commander of the garrison. He was pleased with Ione who gave a very credible account of herself and proved to be exactly the quality of witness he was hoping to secure. So much so that he immediately gave orders to ready a fast ship directly to Carthage.
Amphius and I were assuming that we'd be able to do some trading, eating and drinking before returning to Tamuda to rejoin the group. However, Hanno had other ideas and requisitioned me to accompany him and, by extension, Amphius too though he was free to return if he preferred. In the end Amphius readily agreed to return to Carthage and so we met up with Kalicrates and bade him get word back to those in Tamuda of our onward travels and that we should return to Carthgo Nova in 30 days. Kalicrates would try and use that time wisely to try and make another stone delivery as his profits from the current cargo were handsome indeed.
Pre-dawn on the 13th I sacrificed a cow and other livestock to Tanit for our speedy and safe journey to Carthage aboard The Fist of Melqart, a double-oared sleek warship commanded by Hammilcar, a priest of Melqart. We left the harbour and scattered fishing boats as the fresh oarsmen impressed us with the speed they could muster. An hour later, they swapped with the rested men who kept a similar pace and thus continued each hour to propel us eastwards.
As before, Amphius and I continued to improve our proficiency in each other's tongue. Though now he was immersed in a Punic-speaking environment as opposed to our own crew's Greek one. It proved to be a good opportunity to learn lots of sailing terminology for both of us, and the first two days passed quickly with good weather and wind.
On the 16th we docked in Icosian on the African coast to pick up fresh water and supplies. Amphius also volunteered his services to help out the watchmen up the mast in the twilight hours and proved himself more than capable to seeing the coastline when others were not. The 17th was reasonable sailing but a storm was behind us and the next day it was a lot rougher. The day after it was a lot calmer and misty, and Hammilcar performed a ritual that appeared to guide us towards our next destination, the port of Hippo.
It was good fortune to make Hippo as a storm raged on the 20th, but let up enough that we hopped down the coast to Thabakra on the 21st. On the 22nd we had our first sighting of some sea-beasts and sprang to action but no sooner had the alarm been raised that whatever creature it was has submerged once again and the repetition of the rowing resumed. They continued into the dusk with the aim of reaching Hippocra after sunset, and Carthage was merely around the next headland.
Finally, we docked under cover of darkness in Carthage 12 days after setting out. Glad to be back in my home city and my feet on stable, dry land again.
We three VIP guests were quietly escorted through the city with Hanno to the army base on the other side of the city. Essentially a city within a city, well defended and as safe as anywhere could be. Hanno didn't rest and was off into the city again shortly after our arrival and it was gone midnight when he returned. We reminded ourselves, of course, that we had only five months previously agreed to absent ourselves from Carthage for a year and a day. However, the gods obviously had plans for us that were beyond our knowledge.
He informed us that the Adrim, comprising the two Suffete (consuls), the High Priest of Tanit and the Speaker of Law plus a further twenty elected citizens (effectively the Elders of Carthage), would convene the following night to hear our testimonies. This was quite awe-inspiring, these Four-and-Twenty were the most powerful personages in the land. It didn't bear thinking about what might happen to us if things didn't turn out OK.
We translated all this for Ione and asked her what she might want to do when this was over. She would like to get back to the Greek world, hopefully to Syracuse, but just to Sicily would be good. There was a known place called “The Greek House” in Carthage where the various Greek states would meet and we proposed that it would be an excellent place for Ione to find passage back to her homelands and temple.
With no small amount of trepidation, the next day, the 25th, passed slowly until the midnight hour. Under Sacred Band escort, we assembled in the dark subterranean chamber where the shadowy figures of the elders sat on 3 sides. We could make out statues representing Tanit, Baal and Melqart around the dark walls, and waited in silence.
Hanno was first to be called and gave his account of the sacking of Hemeroskopeion and that the likely culprits were from Akre Leuke. He recounted that I had reported this event to him, and in response Hanno had commissioned me and my comrades to seek out and find any credible witnesses from the settlement so that a faithful account could be given in this chamber. We were successful in this endeavour and returned with Ione, who was taken as a slave, and proved to be a loyal and faithful adherent of Apollo.
After Hanno, I was called upon to corroborate all that was said and to elaborate if necessary. Both I and Amphius kept our comments short and sweet, both swearing that Hanno's account was accurate and true. Ione added her eye-witness testimony of being taken captive and sold on to a man called Haro to become a housekeeper. It was by the intervention of Apollo that Amphius recognised her as more than a simple slave girl and chose her as the reward for a challenge given to the Amazon in our group.
After we concluded our testimonies, the Elder Suffete stood and confirmed to all that no lie had been spoken, and the Younger Suffete suggested that Ione be give diplomatic status and offered the protection due. We minor pawns were ushered out to wait while more secret discussions went on. Finally, Hanno emerged and with a somewhat relived smile declared that things had all gone rather well.
One upshot of the testimony was that Hanno had been given a new task, to return immediately to Iberia and summon the three leaders there and bring them back to Carthage to answer for an unauthorised attack which could lead to more serious escalation. There was obviously a lot of high level diplomacy going on and this transgression would surely not bode well for those responsible.
Ione's fate was conversely very good. She would be offered an escorted passage to Syracuse which was fitted nicely with the promise I made her when we first met. We could either go with her or return with Hanno to Iberia. The logistics of making our own way back to Iberia made the decision for us, and it we said our thanks and farewells to Ione. I gave her a small gift of a bronze dagger to remember her journey to the ends of the sea with us and hoped that perhaps our paths may cross again in the future.
The Fist of Melqart would be leaving on the 28th so I had time to visit the Temple and pay my respects. I had an audience with the High Priest and was informed that our “quiet return” was anything but unnoticed. However, given the circumstances, it was the correct choice. Plans were made to divert attention from our movements while we were to be smuggled back on board Hanno's ship.
I was also informed that our attempts to pass beyond the Pillars was indeed foolish as they cannot be passed without the blessing of Melqart, and it was certainly closed to the Greeks. I was basically told not to try that again without first buying the ticket and getting it validated!
Our short stone delivery trip had extended somewhat, and we left Carthage on the 28th with us a small chest of coin from Hanno not knowing how things were doing at the other end of the sea.
Leaving Carthage on the 28th of October the Fist of Melqart made along the African coast to reach Hypocra on the morning of the 29th, where we stopped briefly for water and supplies. Facing adverse winds, the crew rowed during the day and the day after until we reach Tobacra. There was a further day of light showers and mist on the 31st until we docked at Hippo, a larger Carthaginian settlement and trading centre serving the Eastern Numidian hinterland to its South. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd of November were lost to bad weather, so Amphius and I spent time ashore, finding the local wine to be of good quality.
Returning to the ship on the morning of the 4th we sailed west during the day, overnight and the next day. On the 6th the wind was adverse and the Fist of Melqart made little progress. On the 7th we had a cross wind which allowed us to reach Icosium. The day after we left the coast to sail directly across towards New Carthage. We sailed initially, then the crew spent most of two days rowing. On the third day, the 11th, we arrived in New Carthage in the late afternoon.
We see Kalicrates and crew unloading stone and agreed to sail once they have unloaded. This took until the 13th when we departed, rowing along the coast to reach Baria that evening. On the 14th we continued westwards - rowing to anchor off Adbira that night. The next day was one of pleasant sailing with a warm wind from the south to reach Sexi. On the 16th we sail and rowed towards Malaca before turning south under favourable winds. We encounter another trader out of Rusadir, captained by one Bozan. Also heading to Tamuda, Bozan suggests to Kalicrates that we sail in company and, despite Amphius' suspicions, we do that day, row the day after and sail into Tamuda together around noon.
We find the rest of the party taking their ease in their Tamuda town house…
****
GM Speaks:
After a few days of activity, Kallicrates has hired two townhouses in the Merchants Quarter and off-loaded all the stores and equipment from the Morning Breeze. The ship is dragged out of the water and on to a timber stand by the shore of the river-dock. Awnings soon cover the deck and the crew begin scraping the hull clean after a year's sailing on the Blessed Sea. They take their time, as it is clear that Kallicrates is planning to winter in Tamuda before voyaging again in spring.
Kallicrates arranges a mid-day feast to report on trading to his investors. Over some fresh bread and olives with grilled fish, he says:
“To accomodate Agripinus’ urgent mission to Carthago I had to move quickly to acquire a return cargo for Tamuda, and then chose a smaller cargo of stone for the second trip due to the increasing risk of storms late in the season. By the grace of the gods – respecting in due part Tanit, Poseidon and Apollo – we have safely made harbour with successful trading in both ports. Due to the limited time in each port, I did not try to fill the ship or spend every coin earned in each port. I took the best opportunity available and tried to balance the risk for all shares. On the last run of stone I took a larger share of the cargo for myself as I have to keep my ship and crew in Tamuda for at least three months without much prospect of income. Each of you put in 100 gold pieces as a trading investment, and I am pleased to return 178 gold pieces to each of you. I suggest it is paid as 150 gold and 560 silver as a sensible balance of coin for spending in Tamuda. If you wish, I can approach the local merchants to see if it could be changed into more portable wealth. If you are curious, I am happy to explain my trading records and accounts to anyone who can read Greek and use an abacus.
“And now — some wine to toast our profits — Good Health to All!”