Kalliades stopped to ask directions from some soldiers at the Scaean Gate. Then the two comrades moved on, angling away from the crowd. Banokles spotted two whores standing in the shade of a building and waved at them.
“We need to find the gathering field,” Kalliades said.
Banokles sighed. “And we’ve no wealth. Should have known that bastard would not surrender his breastplate. A curse on all kings!” Kalliades paused. Streets branched off in all directions, and he was gazing at the columned buildings. “Are we lost?”
“Not yet,” Kalliades replied, heading on.
“Do we have a plan yet?”
“For what?”
“For life in Troy. Like… where are we going to stay?”
Kalliades laughed. “You were there when Odysseus told us we would be lodged at Hektor’s palace. You were standing right beside me.”
“I wasn’t listening. I leave that sort of thing to you. Did you notice the size of the walls as we walked up to the city? They looked large the last time we were here, but in daylight they are massive. I wouldn’t want to be on a ladder trying to scale them.”
“You won’t have to. We are Mykene no longer. Which reminds me: Should we see anyone we know, do not shout a greeting or walk up to them.”
“Why would I do anything that stupid?”
“I am sorry, my friend. I was merely thinking aloud. The city is under truce for the games, but there is still a bounty on our heads. And there will be many Mykene here.”
Finally they found their way to the gathering field northeast of the city. Scores of tents had been erected there, and scribes were taking down the names of contestants at dozens of bench tables.
Eventually both Banokles and Kalliades registered to take part and were given thin copper tokens embossed with numbers and an image of the event. They were told to return the next day at dawn for the preliminaries.
At the edge of the field a cooking area had been set up, two charcoal pits in which bulls were being roasted on spits. The two men sat in the shade of a large canvas canopy and ate. “I think this bull died of old age,” Banokles grumbled. “I haven’t eaten meat this stringy since we invaded Sparta. You remember? That old goat Eruthros killed? I swear it was all hoof, bone, and sinew. Not a piece of meat on it.”
“Rations were short,” Kalliades recalled. “I remember digging up roots and ripping bark off trees to add to the stew.”
“Good fighters those Spartans. If there’d been more of them, we’d have been in real trouble.” Banokles laughed. “They must really have angered the gods, eh? First they get beaten in a battle, and then they end up with Menelaus as king.”
“I always liked him,” Kalliades said.
“Nothing to dislike,” Banokles agreed, “but the man’s as soft as puppy shit. He’s got a belly on him like a pregnant sow.”
“I talked to him once,” Kalliades said. “The night before we took Sparta. He was terrified and couldn’t stop throwing up. He said all he wanted was to be back at his farm. He’d been cross-breeding his herds with bulls from Thessaly. He claimed the milk yield from his cows had almost doubled.”
“Milk yield?” Banokles snorted. “By the gods, anyone can get to be a king these days.”
“They can if they are brothers of Agamemnon. But be fair to Menelaus. Though he was frightened, he still donned his armor and joined us in the attack. He didn’t have to. He could have waited with the rear guard.”
Banokles did not look convinced. Then he brightened. “You think there will be slave girls at Hektor’s palace?” he asked.
“I don’t know.” Kalliades chuckled. “If there are, I doubt they’ll be ordered to rut with sailors.”
“They might, though.”
“Better, I think, to find a whore. That way you won’t risk offending Hektor.”
“Oh, good plan,” Banokles mocked. “Whores have to be paid for.”
Kalliades reached into the pouch at his side, and drew out five silver rings. Banokles was astonished. “How did you come by them?”
“Odysseus gave them to me. And he says there will be fifty more. I sold him the breastplate of Idomeneos.”
“It is worth more than fifty-five silver rings.”
Kalliades shook his head. “Not to me. Idomeneos is a king. I cannot demand he honor his debt. Odysseus can. It is that simple. Now, do you want the rings?”
Banokles grinned. “I want what they’ll buy,” he said.
“Well, first let us locate Hektor’s palace.”
The two friends left the gathering field and wandered back through the city.
“How many women will five silver rings buy me?” Banokles asked.
“I neglected to ask Odysseus about the price of whores.”
“Not like you to forget the important things,” Banokles observed. “Will you be coming whore hunting with me?”
“No. I’ll return to the beach. Odysseus has told Piria to sleep on the Penelope. She’ll be coming to the palace later.”
“Why?”
“Odysseus wants to find out if any of the other kings are staying close to Hektor’s palace. It could be dangerous for her if she is recognized.”
“So you will spend the night guarding her?” Banokles shook his head. Ahead, the road widened, and they saw a marketplace packed with stalls. There were shops there and several eating places with tables set out beneath brightly colored canopies. Banokles grabbed Kalliades by the arm. “Come on,” he said. “We need to talk.”
“We were talking.”
“I need a drink for this kind of conversation,” Banokles said. Kalliades followed him to a small table placed against a cool stone wall. Banokles ordered wine, filled a goblet, and drained it. “Are you moonstruck, Kalliades?” he asked.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I think you do. You’ve fallen in love with her.”
“I am merely concerned for her safety.”
“And pig shit smells like jasmine! I like the girl, Kalliades, so don’t misunderstand me. She has courage and she has heart, and if it was in her nature, she’d make a fine wife. But it isn’t in her nature. You know as well as I do that the lover she is searching for is a woman.”
Kalliades sighed. “I didn’t choose to love her,” he said. “But I did choose to protect her, and I did promise to see her safely to her lover. I will do that, and then we will part.”
“Is that a promise?”
Kalliades poured himself a cup of wine and sipped it. The silence grew.
“I thought not,” Banokles said. “So what are you really hoping for? That her lover will turn her away? That she will fall into your arms? That you will take all her sorrow from her? It cannot happen. Brothers cannot do that for sisters. And that is how she sees you, how she will always see you.”
“I know that,” Kalliades replied. “I know that everything you say is true, and yet… I also know there is a reason why she came into my life. I cannot explain it, Banokles. I was meant to meet her. That is a truth that my soul understands.”
Looking into his friend’s pale eyes, he saw no similar understanding there. Then Banokles shrugged and smiled. “You do what you must, my friend. You go and walk in the moonlight with the woman you love. I’ll find someone who doesn’t love me and shag her until my eyes bulge.”
The tension between them evaporated, and Kalliades laughed. “That is a good plan,” he said. “Simple and direct, with clear objectives. I hope you can stick to it.”
“Why would I not?”
“Because when full of wine, you tend to look for brawls to take part in.”
“Not tonight,” Banokles said. “Tonight is for wine and women. I give you my oath on that.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN