Glyn Iliffe - The Gates Of Troy (Adventures of Odysseus)

Contents

BOOK ONE

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

BOOK TWO

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

BOOK THREE

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-one

Chapter Twenty-two

Chapter Twenty-three

Chapter Twenty-four

Chapter Twenty-five

Chapter Twenty-six

Chapter Twenty-seven

BOOK FOUR

Chapter Twenty-eight

Chapter Twenty-nine

Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty-one

Chapter Thirty-two

book

ONE

Chapter One

UNWELCOME VISITORS

Odysseus, king of Ithaca, lay on his stomach amongst a clump of fern. Leaves and twigs were tangled in his thick, red-brown beard, and his face and hands were smeared with earth so that only the whites of his eyes were visible in the undergrowth. He remained perfectly still and silent as he looked down the slope towards a clearing in the dense woodland, where two dozen men sat around a large fire and ate stew from wooden bowls. Their features were grey and blurred in the twilight, but it was clear from their armaments and the sound of their heavily accented voices that they were not Ithacans.

Thats them, Eperitus, Odysseus whispered, nodding decisively. Theyre not a hunting party or a group of woodsmen theyre the bandits were looking for. Can you hear what theyre saying?

Eperitus, captain of Odysseuss guard, lay shoulder to shoulder with the king. Most of it, he replied, turning an ear towards the circle of men. Despite the distance, his acute hearing which, like the rest of his god-gifted senses, was unnaturally sharp could easily pick out the words of their conversation. Something about a troop of dancing girls and . . . well, you can probably guess the rest. A roar of harsh laughter broke out below them. They met the girls in Pylos, but from their accents it sounds like theyre Thessalians.

Then theyve a long journey back home, Odysseus said, watching the men thoughtfully and tapping at his teeth with a nail-bitten forefinger.

Eperitus scratched at his closely cropped black beard. The problem is that we were told there were six of them, not four times that amount. And weve only brought twenty men with us.

Odysseus leaned his large, muscular torso to one side and looked at his old friend, a glimmer of playful mockery in his green eyes. When we landed on Samos yesterday morning you told me you were itching for a fight. In fact, hardly a months gone by in the past ten years when you havent reminisced about the old days or longed for a proper battle to come along. Now the opportunitys arrived, all you can do is complain.

Eperitus screwed his lips to one side and fixed his eyes on the camp below. Even though he knew Odysseus was poking fun at him, the kings words still stung. No other man on Ithaca not even Odysseus himself desired glory in battle as much as he did. The islanders were simple folk whose happiness was found in their homes and families, but Eperitus was an exile from a distant city who had never lost the unsettling need to prove himself. It drove everything he did, and though he had long since earned his place amongst the Ithacans he struggled to share their contentment. The handful of skirmishes he had fought in the past few years had left him hungry for a real chance of glory, and it was not until the news that a large group of bandits were terrorizing Samos the neighbouring island to Ithaca that he had realized how deep that hunger had eaten into him.

Im not complaining, he replied. Im a warrior, and a warrior wants nothing more than to kill his enemies. Its just that youre the king, Odysseus, and Im sworn to protect you. Zeuss beard, if we take these lads on as we are theres a good chance theyll win and youll be killed. And just look at them: I thought brigands were supposed to be armed with daggers and rusty swords, not breastplates, shields and spears!

He pointed to the weapons piled against the mouth of a cave at the back of the clearing, and then at the armour worn by each man and the long swords hanging from their belts. Both he and Odysseus knew that the men who had been robbing the people of Samos were not a band of disorganized thugs, stealing at need and fleeing back into the woods; they were soldiers, turned to common robbery for survival in a country where peace had reigned for a decade. They had arrived from the Peloponnese by ship several days before, and if they were allowed to establish themselves on Samos they would not only continue to threaten the welfare of the islanders, they would soon pose a challenge to Odysseuss own power and authority.

Well, we need to deal with them, the king said, resolutely. And I cant wait for more of the guard to be fetched from Ithaca we have to defeat them here and now, with the men weve got.

What about Penelope? Eperitus responded, noticing the look in Odysseuss eye at the mention of his beloved wife. Shes three weeks away from giving birth to your first child, the child youve been trying for ever since you were married. This isnt the time to go risking your life.

I love my wife, Odysseus said, simply but seriously. And no pack of outlaws is going to prevent me from returning home to her. But a king who isnt prepared to risk his life for his people isnt worthy of the title, and for the sake of my unborn son I have to live up to who I am.

Eperitus looked at his friend and knew he had spoken truly. Well, evenings not far away, he sighed, glancing up at the azure sky through the canopy of budding branches overhead. And therell only be a faint moon tonight. We could bring the rest of the guard up here after dark and . . .

And kill them in cold blood? We wont need to resort to that.

Why not? You slit the throats of a dozen sleeping Taphians once, so whats the difference?

I had to do that, Odysseus answered. They were invaders, whereas these poor swine, he pointed a thumb towards the men below, are just soldiers fallen on hard times warriors, like you and me. I wont kill them without giving them the chance to leave peacefully first.

Eperitus shook his head resignedly. It was not that Odysseus was too proud to accept advice, it was just that he always thought he knew better. And he invariably did: if anyone could think of a way to defeat the bandits, it was Odysseus, the most clever, devious and resourceful man Eperitus knew.

I assume youve got a plan, he said.

Of course I have, the king replied with a grin. Now, lets get back to the others and tell them what weve seen.

He raised himself on all fours and backed away from the screen of ferns, followed by Eperitus. Once they were sure they would not be spotted by any of the men around the campfire, they stood and quietly made their way back through the wood, picking a route between the silvery-grey trunks in the darkness. Soon they found the path they were looking for a rutted cart track that crossed from one side of the forest to the other and began the trek east towards their own camp.

I dreamed about her again last night, Odysseus said after a while. He was looking up at the early evening stars, which could be seen pricking the sky through the fissure in the canopy overhead.

Athena? Eperitus asked, pausing to look at the king, who avoided his eye and carried on walking. Eperitus ran to catch up with him. What did she say? Was it about Penelope again?

He knew Odysseus had long enjoyed the blessing of the goddess. As a child he had often seen her in his waking dreams, sitting on his bed at night and comforting him when he was lonely. She had once saved him from a wild boar, and when he became a man he had repaid her by making her his patron goddess. Ten years ago she had appeared before him and Eperitus on Mount Parnassus where they had gone to seek the advice of the oracle and then at Messene. A few months later she had brought Eperitus back to life after he had died saving Odysseus from the knife of an assassin. But since then the king had seen or heard nothing of her until she had come to him in a dream two nights ago, telling him Penelope would shortly give him a son.