Satyrus thought of the kurgan by the Tanais River. It had a stone at the top, like every kurgan. 'I know what they speak of, yes,' he said. 'But they will reforge the blade?'
'As soon as it can be done. A donation would not be unwelcome. A mina of silver would be appropriate.'
'I will send them a mina of gold, if they are successful.' Satyrus hugged Namastis. 'This means a great deal to me.'
'It is well that you brought me. And it is good that you respect the ways of this land.' Namastis led him by the hand down the steps of the temple of Ptah and out of the Aegyptian quarter. They shared a meal and then Namastis had to go back to his duty at the temple.
'I will pray for you. Come and visit me!' Namastis said.
Satyrus went straight from the Temple of Poseidon to the palace. At the palace, he made an appointment with Gabines, the steward of the lord of Aegypt. He listened to the news in the agora and spread some rumours of his own.
On the fourth day, he visited Abraham's father, Isaac, who met him in the courtyard and had him in to drink qua-veh.
'How is my scapegrace son?' Ben Zion asked.
Satyrus drank the bitter stuff carefully. He realized that he had hoped that Miriam, Abraham's talkative daughter, would put in an appearance, although he had come to recognize that the poppy, when present, muted all such longings, and when absent, accentuated them. Right now he was as far from his last dose as he ever got, and thus on edge.
'He is well,' Satyrus said carefully. 'He sent a cargo, which I carried in the Lotus and sold at Rhodos. I brought alum from Rhodos – here are my bills. And that sack has the silver.'
Ben Zion waved a hand at two weeks of winter sailing. 'I would rather have my son. He is playing pirate while he ought to be getting married.'
Satyrus had a vivid image of Abraham playing 'feed the flute girl' at the symposium of Aphrodite. 'He will come back in the summer,' Satyrus said. 'I only came to assure you that he is well.'
'Well? He is fornicating like a stallion amongst heathens who would murder him for his curly hair. He is playing pirate with men who would eat his heart when they cut it out – and you took him there.' Ben Zion didn't seem particularly angry. He said these things as simple facts.
Satyrus met his eye. 'He is my best captain – my right hand. In a year, I will be king, or not.'
Ben Zion nodded. 'Listen, Satyrus son of Kineas, who would be king. If you fall, my son's head will lie beside yours. If you triumph, what value to me? What value to me if my son dies? I would rather that he came back here to his own and left your world of adventure. When he is dead, it will be too late for him to repent.'
Satyrus stood up. 'He is my best friend,' Satyrus said. 'I am sorry you don't value his accomplishments. He is as brave as a lion – thoughtful in council. He sees far, and he does not hesitate to do what must be done. If he were my son, I would be proud that he was accounted a great captain. They know his name in Rhodos and in Byzantium.'
'You are a young fool, like my son, Satyrus son of Kineas. What makes you think that I am not proud? I was proud when he came home from the fight at Gaza, like a young David in his pride. Men come to me and say, "Your son took an enemy galley in a fair fight, when the battle was lost," and again, "Your son saved his ship, and his friend." I hear these things, and I rejoice that my son is made of such stuff. And I still want him back here, where I can love him, and not dead with you.' Ben Zion held up the pot. 'More qua-veh?' he asked. 'We Jews speak our minds, young Satyrus. Don't bother to be offended. Bring him back to me.'
He walked Satyrus to the gate, and Satyrus felt better than he'd expected. He smiled at the older man, who tugged his own beard and laughed.
'How long will you be here?' Ben Zion asked. 'Surely all your busy schemes need you?'
Satyrus looked up at the exedra and saw movement behind a curtain. He looked back at Ben Zion, moved somehow to simple honesty.
'I took poppy for a wound and I've had too much of it. My physician is going to take it out of me. This will take more than a week.' He smiled ruefully.
'God be with you, then,' Ben Zion said. 'It is no small matter.' The older man took his elbow. 'You are looking for my daughter, I think.'
Satyrus nodded. 'I liked her.'
Ben Zion shook his head. 'She is married now. You have enough of my family already.' He guided Satyrus out of the gate.
Miriam married. Well, he scarcely knew her really, and that only to be annoyed at her. 'And how is the machine?' Satyrus asked.
Ben Zion tugged his beard again. But the smile that came to his lips was unforced. 'Magnificent. Lord Ptolemy has been here – to my house! To see it function. He wants one for his library. The tyrant of Athens has sent me a letter about it.' Ben Zion shook his head. 'I am one of the greatest grain merchants in the world, and no one knows my name outside the trade. But now that I have financed this machine – now men know me. What is the Greek word I am looking for?'
'Irony?' Satyrus asked.
'You have it, young man. The irony threatens to overwhelm me.' Ben Zion nodded to himself. 'There is a lesson there somewhere. Perhaps about the futility of human striving.' He studied the ground and then, raising his eyes, he seemed to study Satyrus. 'Two of the philosophers who worked on the machine are coming to Alexandria – indeed, I expect them any day. They come from Syracusa – students of Pythagoras and Archimedes. Would you like to meet such men? Or are their mathematics too academic for an adventurer such as yourself?'
Satyrus clasped the older man's hand. 'I would be delighted. It will give me something I can look forward to – while I lie on a bed and curse the poppy.'
'Good. I will send word to Leon's house. You will rescue him?' Ben Zion asked suddenly.
'Yes,' Satyrus said.
'Good. For that, I loan you my son. Leon and I are partners – it is fitting that my son help his nephew.' Ben Zion squeezed his arm and went back through his gate, leaving Satyrus wondering whether Ben Zion was speaking to himself or to Satyrus. The next day, Nearchus pronounced Satyrus fit.
Satyrus lay on his bed with a bucket of scrolls.
'Read while you can,' Nearchus said.
And so it began.
14
Melitta's first debate, first council and first absolute commands as lady of the Assagatje involved sending her allies home to their yurts. The irony was not lost on her.
The presence of Parshtaevalt and Urvara had exactly the effect she had anticipated. They treated her like a particularly wise child – they spoke carefully, they laid out their plans and expected her immediate approval. They, and their people, camped a few stades from the field of the Ford of the River God, and tribesmen began to join them. Just as Ataelus, Urvara and Parshtaevalt wanted. By their very inaction, they were gathering an army.
On the third day after the sacrifices, Melitta arose from her pallet of furs determined to take command of her own people – and her destiny. She dressed carefully and went to Nihmu, who now openly shared a lodge with Coenus. She brushed new snow from the flap and opened it, holding the stick carefully so that it did not dump more snow on the carpets inside.
'I desire to summon all of the leaders in camp,' she said.
Coenus was boiling water in a small bronze pot balanced on a tripod. He was naked from the waist up, the grey hair of his abdomen criss-crossed with scars. She had seldom seen a body so scarred.
He was unembarrassed. 'Lady,' he said. He inclined his head. He, at least, treated her as an adult – and as his commander.
Nihmu was wearing only a wool shirt. She came and knelt by Melitta and gave her a cup of warm cider from the fire. 'Lady?' she said. 'I am neither a commander nor your baqca.' She shrugged. 'How would I summon your council?'