Glyn Iliffe - The Oracles of Troy (The Adventures of Odysseus)

‘What sort of questions?’

‘Your name, to start with.’

‘Helenus, son of Priam,’ Helenus confessed, after a moment’s hesitation. ‘But if you’re thinking I’ll fetch a good ransom because I’m a prince then you’ll be disappointed. I’m a priest, not a warrior, and my father values me less than the dogs that feed on the scraps from his table.’

‘We’re not after hostages,’ Eperitus countered. ‘We were sent here for information. We were told we would find the secret to the downfall of Troy in this temple tonight –’

Eperitus felt Odysseus’s hand on his arm and turned to see an admonishing look in the king’s eye. Clearly, he had said too much. Then he saw Odysseus’s gaze turn to Helenus; Eperitus followed and saw that the prince’s eyes were staring at him, wide with surprise.

‘ Who sent you?’ he asked.

‘Calchas, the seer,’ Odysseus answered. ‘Do you know of him?’

Helenus nodded.

‘Yes. His reputation as a traitor is well known in Troy, though I also have vague memories of him from when I was a very young boy – his shuffling walk, and those piercing eyes.’

‘And are you the one he sent us to look for?’ Odysseus continued.

There was a tautness to the king’s tone, like a hunter who has sighted his prey and yet is afraid to launch his spear too soon for fear of startling the animal and sending it fleeing for cover. Helenus looked at the hooded men, their features indistinguishable in the gloom, and for a moment it looked as if he would tell them everything. Then he checked himself and stepped back towards the altar, his eyes narrowed suspiciously. It seemed the prey had flown.

‘Let me go. If you dishonour the neutrality of this temple you dishonour the gods themselves.’

‘The temple’s neutrality has nothing to do with the gods,’ Odysseus corrected. ‘The Greeks and Trojans came to a mutual understanding early in the war that it should be left open to both sides. And in the dead of the night there’ll be nobody to witness one small violation. Take him.’

At his signal Polites and Eurybates rushed forward and seized the prince by his arms.

‘And I’m curious,’ Odysseus continued, watching the captive struggle uselessly against their hold. ‘Why would anybody want to visit the temple so late, unless they were up to something they didn’t want anyone else to know about? Who’s this man you’re so desperate for Apollo to lead you to, and what’s made you furious enough to seek vengeance? What, exactly, are you up to, Helenus?’

‘I’ll speak to no man but Odysseus, or Eperitus his captain!’

‘Then Apollo has heard your prayer,’ Odysseus said, tipping back his hood. ‘I am King Odysseus of Ithaca, son of Laertes, and this is Eperitus, the captain of my guard.’

Eperitus lowered his hood and stepped forward to look at the prince, who had given up his struggles and now hung between his Ithacan captors, staring at Odysseus and Eperitus in disbelief.

‘Who told you to find us?’

‘A servant girl called Astynome,’ Helenus answered. Eperitus’s eyes widened momentarily, but he said nothing. ‘After Paris was slain, Deiphobus and I laid claim to Helen. Deiphobus is the elder and has fought valiantly against the Greeks, but I am a seer and offered to tell my father the oracles that were given to me to ensure the safety of Troy – or guarantee its destruction – if he gave me Helen for my wife.’

Odysseus and Eperitus exchanged glances.

‘Go on,’ the king said.

Helenus looked at the ground in anger and shame.

‘Priam chose Deiphobus. My brother forced Helen to marry him there and then, against her will, while I was ordered to give up the oracles to the council of elders tomorrow night. They humiliated me, and I want revenge.’

He looked up and there was a fierce rage burning in his eyes at the memory of what had happened in the great hall.

‘Menelaus won’t be happy,’ said Eurybates, still holding the prince’s arm. ‘He was hoping the Trojans would give Helen back to him after Paris was killed.’

‘I’d hoped the same,’ Odysseus confessed, ‘but it looks like we’ll have to do things the hard way, as usual. And yet it seems Calchas was correct: the gods have disclosed the means to conquer Troy, and the one man they’ve given this knowledge to is right here before us. Is your unhappiness so great, Helenus, that you’re prepared to betray these oracles to the enemies of your people?’

Helenus nodded and Odysseus signalled to Polites and Eurybates to release him.

‘Then tell me what they are.’

‘What, now? Here ?’

‘I’m a hasty man,’ Odysseus answered, with a shrug. ‘The sooner you tell me, the sooner we can carry out the gods’ commands.’

Helenus seemed hesitant, as if wondering whether the Ithacan king and his men could be trusted.

‘First you must guarantee my safety, and once I’ve told you the oracles I want to be given safe passage away from Ilium. This country is no longer my home and the gods have already foretold its doom.’

‘You have my word,’ Odysseus said.

Antiphus and Omeros had left the entrance to the temple and were now standing either side of Odysseus and Eperitus. With Eurybates and Polites, they formed a circle with Helenus at their apex.

‘Then listen to what the gods have declared,’ he began. ‘Troy will fall this year if three conditions are met. First, the shoulder bone of Pelops must be fetched from his tomb in Greece and brought to Ilium. Second, Neoptolemus, Achilles’s son, must join the Greek army, for it’s his destiny to extinguish Troy’s royal line. And third, you must take the Palladium from the temple of Athena in Pergamos. Do all these things and victory will be yours.’

‘Rob a grave, kidnap a boy and steal a lump of burned wood,’ Eperitus mused. ‘Not impossible, even if I don’t see the point.’

‘Oh, there’s a point,’ Odysseus said. ‘If this is the path laid out by the gods then you can be sure there’s a reason behind it. And it won’t be easy, either. But at least now I know what I have to do to bring an end to this war.’

He touched the small dried flower in his belt, which all the Ithacans wore to remind them of their home.

Chapter Fourteen

T HE L EGEND OF P ELOPS

Agamemnon’s tent was bright and airy, filled with the early morning light that filtered in through its cotton and flax walls. It was essentially the same tent he had used when the fleet had gathered at Aulis so long ago, although it was enlarged in places and the canvas panels were replaced from time to time to keep it looking clean and white. From their first arrival on the shores of Ilium, Agamemnon had refused to follow the other leaders and build himself a hut, seeing it as defeatist and a signal to the army that he did not believe in a swift victory. And as the years of war had passed, his resolve had grown stronger, though the rich furnishings, the thick furs over the floor, the wide, oblong hearth at its centre and the many guards and slaves made the tent more a palace than a temporary military headquarters.

Eperitus barely noticed the familiar surroundings as he stood with his hands behind his back, lost in his own thoughts. Helenus was beside him, noticeably nervous as he waited in the quarters of Troy’s chief enemy, while opposite him Odysseus was standing with his arms crossed, his green eyes keenly watching the three men seated on the other side of the hearth. Agamemnon, Menelaus and Nestor were bent in towards each other, their heads almost touching as they spoke together in hushed voices. Eperitus’s gaze fell on Agamemnon, whom he hated, and moved away again. If he had wanted to, Eperitus could have heard everything they said, but he preferred to think on the words Helenus had shared with him on the slow journey back from the temple of Thymbrean Apollo. Words he should have dismissed with all his heart and mind, but which even his usually resolute spirit could not.