Odysseus took two kraters from a slave, handed one to his father, then approached the hearth and poured a libation into the flames. The others did the same, uttering quiet prayers as each slop of wine was welcomed with a hiss. Then Odysseus retreated to the granite throne and sat on the embroidered cushion that had been placed there by one of the slaves. Taking a tall staff of dark wood from another slave, he signalled for the others to return to their seats.
Laertes lowered himself into the vacant chair beside Eperitus, releasing a pained sigh as his joints bent to accommodate the simple movement. He turned his rheumy eyes on the captain of the guard for a lingering moment, then passed his gaze one by one to the other members of the Kerosia. When, finally, it was the turn of Eupeithes, his eyes narrowed and his stare remained fixed on the fat merchant. Eupeithes, however, had become used to this treatment some years ago and had learned to simply ignore it.
Odysseus leaned back into the throne and faced the council. Two large, grey dolphins decorated the wall behind him, their bodies arced over his shoulders and their noses almost touching. Odysseus had adopted the creature for his coat of arms long before he had become king, but now the image was found all through the palace and even on the sails of the ships that were waiting in the harbour below the town, ready for the long voyage to Troy.
‘Agamemnon has been sighted coming up from the south,’ he announced. ‘He promised us a fortnight to prepare our forces, and that’s exactly what we’ve had – there can be no further delay. Have the men who were chosen arrived, Eurylochus?’
‘Yes, cousin, and many more besides. Most have come pleading to join the expedition, and some have even offered money to the lucky few to take their places. Several others were caught trying to stow themselves away on the ships. We were forced to drag them off and there were more than a few quarrels about it.’
‘Their enthusiasm encourages me,’ Odysseus said, though there was little sign of it in his face.
‘Their spirits may be willing,’ Phronius grunted, ‘but any lunatic can rush off to war if they’ve never raised a spear in anger. I want to know what the abilities are of the men you’ve picked. How many of them have seen battle? What training have they had? Can they fight as a unit? These are the sorts of question we need to ask now if any of them are to come back.’
Eperitus stood and received the staff from Odysseus.
‘You’re right to ask these questions, Phronius. You saw your fair share of fighting when you were our age and you know what it can do to a warrior. But I’ll be honest with you: most of these men are untrained and almost none have seen battle. I can vouch for the two hundred men that are being released from the guard, of course – Halitherses and I have trained them hard over the years, and they’re fit and well used to working together as a unit. About a quarter have seen combat, too: the men who came with us to Samos recently, and those who fought to liberate Ithaca years ago from the Taphian invaders. But we chose the eight hundred as much for their fitness, strength, courage and willingness to fight, and I have complete faith that they will not let Odysseus down.’
Eurylochus stood and looked at the captain of the guard with contempt. ‘No more than a dozen have ever been in a real battle,’ he sneered. ‘And only the guards have had any formal military training, or know how to manoeuvre as a disciplined unit. The rest will be a shambles if they go to war. They barely know how to use their weapons, let alone how to work together as an army.’
‘That’ll be taken care of,’ Eperitus responded, ignoring Eurylochus and facing the other members of the council. ‘We’ve already started giving the volunteers rudimentary weapons training and teaching them a few moves and basic tactics. There’s been no time to make them into warriors or a functioning army, but Odysseus and I have worked out a proper training schedule, which we’ll have enough time to implement when we reach Aulis.’
‘Aulis?’ asked Mentor.
‘It’s a sheltered bay in the Euboean straits,’ Odysseus answered. ‘Agamemnon has made it the muster point for the Greek fleet. We’ll be there for weeks or even months while we wait for latecomers and make the proper preparations for war. Before we even think of sailing for Troy, the kings will need to agree on a leader for the expedition – which will almost certainly be Agamemnon – and then decide on strategies, tactics, reserves, supplies and so on.’
‘As far as our own army is concerned, you can leave the problem of supply with me,’ said Eupeithes, standing and sweeping his yellow cloak over his shoulder with a flourish. He received the speaker’s staff from Eperitus and turned to look at the members of the Kerosia. ‘In fact I’ve already made arrangements for corn to be shipped from Dulichium and wine from Samos – and all at a reasonable discount, considering the cause is a patriotic one. As for the army’s other needs – clothing, replacement weaponry, not to mention lesser trifles such as pots, pans, bedding, and so on – I’ve discussed this with local merchants and we’ve agreed . . .’
‘Sit down, you fat fool,’ Laertes interrupted, glaring contemptuously at his old enemy. ‘Don’t you know Agamemnon and Menelaus have offered to provision the whole Greek army?’
‘But . . . But nobody told . . .’
‘Oh stop stammering and get back to your seat,’ Laertes snapped, walking around the hearth and snatching the staff from Eupeithes’s hand. ‘Now, this is the question I want to ask: what about the Trojans? We know the Greeks should be able to provide a large army – if the oath is honoured and each king brings his fair share of soldiers – and that a good core should be well trained, properly equipped and experienced, but what do we know about the enemy? Well, when I was the king of Ithaca I wasn’t as idle or ignorant as some of my subjects thought,’ Laertes glared at Eupeithes, ‘so I’ll tell you what I know. Priam, they say, is a womanizer with more brains in his penis than his head, but he has – or at least he had – a particular son who effectively rules in his stead. His name is Hector, a violent brute of a man with a sharp mind when it comes to fighting. He rules over an empire of vassal states and allied cities, which he keeps on a tight rein through the ruthless application of violence and fear. The Trojan army is considerable in size and battle-hardened through its unending border wars, and they can call on large numbers of warriors from the rest of the empire. These foreigners breed like dogs, so even with the whole of Greece against them they’ll easily be able to match us man for man. I can’t speak for their quality, but when a man is defending his home and knows the only thing between a vicious enemy and his wife and children is his spear, he will fight twice as hard as any invader.
‘What’s more,’ Laertes continued, turning his calm, knowing eyes on Odysseus, ‘the Trojans boast that the walls of their city were built by Apollo and Poseidon. They’re impenetrable. Even if you defeat their walls of flesh and blood, my son, you won’t pass their walls of stone. As I see it, if you go on this mission to Troy then it’ll be many years before you see the halls of your own palace again – if at all.’
At this point, Halitherses stood and moved towards Laertes, who gave him the speaker’s staff and returned to his seat.
‘Odysseus,’ Halitherses began, ‘your father speaks with the wisdom of a god. As soon as I heard of this proposed mission to rescue Helen – the moment I learned she was being held in Troy – my heart sank. Did you think I’d forgotten Mount Parnassus and the oracle the Pythoness gave you? Indeed, could any man forget the sight of that poor girl, transformed as she was with the face and tongue of a serpent, speaking those fateful words? It’s always been kept a secret between those of us who were there – you, Eperitus, Antiphus and I – but now the time has come to share it with the Kerosia. Give me leave to reveal what she said, so that the council will know the doom that awaits you.’