Glyn Iliffe - King of Ithaca (Adventures of Odysseus)

‘The shepherd boy told us there were Taphians on the hill,’ Eperitus said, pointing at Arceisius. ‘But how did you know to return so soon?’

Odysseus shook his head in dismay. ‘We slipped over the road between Ithaca and the harbour, hoping to climb the hill to the north-west of the town. From there we saw a ship drifting out of the bay and into the straits; it was one of the Spartan ships that brought us here.’

Halitherses spat in the dust. ‘Treachery then.’

‘They sold us and their own countrymen for a few pieces of silver. It’s my guess Polytherses sent a large force of men to hold the isthmus between the two halves of Ithaca, and some malevolent god led them straight to our camp.’

‘So what do we do now?’ Halitherses asked. ‘We can’t stay here: Polytherses is certain to send up another force at any time. The ship’s captain will have told him how many men were landed, so he’ll know there’s only a handful of us left. At the very least he’ll want to check the bodies to see if you’re amongst them, Odysseus.’

‘We’ll have to find a boat to take us back to the mainland,’ Mentor said, despondently. ‘I can’t see any other choice: if the Spartans killed as many as they lost, Eumaeus will still need to recruit seventy loyal Ithacans before we can match the Taphians man for man. Even then, Polytherses has the advantage of defended walls and a better-equipped force, and we’ve lost the advantage of surprise. Winning back our homeland was always going to be hard, but now it’s become impossible.’

‘None of that matters any more,’ Odysseus said. ‘Look.’

He pointed at one of the Spartan bodies. He had short black hair and a beard and his eyes were closed as if in sleep. The shaft of an arrow stood up from his stomach, where a crimson circle of blood had spread out from the point of entry. Eperitus did not recognize him or know his name.

‘What of him?’ he asked.

‘He was one of the men Diocles assigned to guard Penelope; the other’s over there. They should be back at the pig farm with her. The fact they aren’t means Penelope persuaded them to follow us. You heard her say she would follow me, and that’s exactly what she’s done.’

‘Then she’s been taken by the Taphians?’ Halitherses asked.

‘I’ve no doubt about it, which leaves me no choice in the matter. If there are any that will follow me, I intend to attack tonight.’

Halitherses looked grim. His reply was stiff and tight-lipped.

‘And every man here will attack with you. This island’s their home and there’s not a man amongst them who doesn’t have wives and children to fight for. The only man I can’t speak for is Eperitus. I’ve come to respect you in the time we’ve been together,’ he said, turning to Eperitus, ‘and I would trust you with my life. But you’ve only spent a handful of nights on Ithaca and I’d think no less of you if you returned to the mainland to seek your fortune there.’

‘Yes,’ Odysseus agreed. ‘I owe you my life, Eperitus, and you owe me yours, but I can’t ask you to give it up for the sake of an island you know nothing about.’

‘Know nothing about?’ Eperitus scoffed. ‘Haven’t I heard you and your men talk about every rocky crag, every wooded hill, every olive grove and every young maiden on Ithaca? I know the names of each different place on this island from its homesick warriors, and its sights are so familiar to me I feel like I was born here. Ithaca’s my home now and my allegiance is to its prince. I’ll kill Taphians with you, even if it means certain death, but if you’ll listen to me I have a better suggestion.’

The others looked at him quizzically.

‘The shepherd boy told us something we can use to our advantage. He says the Taphians are getting restless because their wine shipment is late. The only thing stopping them from rebelling against Polytherses is the promise it will arrive today.’

‘That must have been the merchantman I saw coming in as the Spartan ship left,’ Odysseus said.

‘Then we don’t have any time to spare. Polytherses has sent some men to escort the wagon back up to the palace, but if we can kill them and smash the shipment then the Taphians will rebel. We might not even have to fight them.’

‘The boy has brains, as well as brawn,’ Halitherses said, slapping Eperitus on the shoulder. ‘I say the idea’s a good one. How about you, Odysseus?’

‘I say you two should stick to fighting and let me do the thinking. The wine shipment is the key, but we shouldn’t destroy it. On the contrary,’ he said, snapping his fingers and grinning at them, ‘I want to make sure it arrives at the palace safe and sound.’

Odysseus and his men watched the sail of the merchant ship drift out of the harbour. The sun was sinking behind the hills of Samos on the other side of the channel that divided the two islands. Its departing beams set fire to the surface of the water, making it boil red about the charred hull of the vessel as it slipped away northwards, dragging the long, oblong shadow of its sail beside it. After a while the ship disappeared from their view and, released from its spell, they settled themselves for the ambush.

Before long they heard the squeal of an overladen wagon making its way up the road from the harbour. It was the same road they had marched down to the cheers of the townsfolk half a year before, though now the only voices they heard were those of the approaching Taphians, the only sound the occasional crack of a stick on some poor beast’s hindquarters.

Eperitus waited with Odysseus, hiding amongst the poplar trees where he had fought Polybus and knocked him into the town spring. Antiphus and five others were with them, waiting anxiously for the Taphians to appear. The remaining warriors, led by Halitherses and Mentor, were concealed behind a stone wall on the other side of the road, readying their weapons for the fight.

Eperitus’s sword was in his hand and Odysseus had an arrow fitted in the great bow of horn that Iphitus had given him in Messene. Beside them Antiphus slid an arrow from the quiver at his hip and readied the notch in his own bow, to wait with stilled breath for the first soldier to come into view. No sooner had he half-tensed the ox-gut string than a man appeared where the road bent down towards the bay. He was followed in quick succession by two others – all of them were tall and heavily armed – and a pair of oxen drawing a large, high-sided cart. A further two warriors, older and fatter than the others, sat behind the labouring animals. They were backed by stacks of earthenware vessels, placed in baskets to prevent them smashing against each other during the journey and spilling the precious wine.

Nobody moved. The Ithacans had been in enough fights together now to know that the time to strike was still moments away. Before the Taphians had come into sight Eperitus had felt a knot of anxiety in his stomach, but now battle was at hand the tension eased out of him and an intense sensitivity to his surroundings took over. He was aware of every slight movement, every sound and, despite the twilight, every detail of each of his enemies. He could see the redness in their cheeks from sampling the wine, and the light of life in their eyes, shining with cheer because tonight they hoped to drink themselves into a stupor. But for them the night would never come, and their eyes would soon be dark for ever.

Odysseus signalled quietly to Antiphus, pointing at himself and then the driver to indicate his chosen target. Antiphus nodded in reply and indicated the lead Taphian. In the half-light of early evening neither shot would be easy, but Eperitus trusted both men to find their marks. Then Odysseus raised himself on one knee, waited for Antiphus to do the same, and in the same instant their bows twanged.