Chapter V
"Gold is tried by fire, brave men by adversity” - Seneca
I was coughing and spitting, slumped in sheer exhaustion on the beach, like so much wet driftwood. Small wavelets lapped my feet and a sea bird inclined its head and looked at me quizzically when I raised my head. I began to get up and startled, it flew away, as Junius turned onto his back. The warm sunshine of a Black Sea afternoon began baking the corpses, scattered on the shingle, lying amongst the debris of the wrecked and now sunken bireme. Some were stuck with arrows and leaked blood, a pink cloud in the lapping sea. Some had clearly drowned, but there seemed to be none moving.
'Aulus!' Junius said, ‘Are you all right?'
'Half drowned, exhausted and dying of thirst but otherwise ready for anything,' I replied with weak humour.
'We'll have trouble walking with these manacles. Maybe we can split them with rocks.'
'We can try. Let's get going. There may be other survivors. I don't know about you, but I certainly never want to see the inside of a corsair ship again as long as I live.'
'Any idea where we are?'
'No, all I know is that we were sailing and rowing east towards Kotais at the eastern end of the Black Sea.'
'How many days were we on the ship? I've lost track of time,' he said.
'Three days by my reckoning.'
'Long walk.'
'No need to delay then.'
I got slowly and painfully to my feet and shuffled to a corpse. I removed the sandals and put them on. My peripheral vision alerted me to a movement to my right. I turned. It was a red-robed figure and it began to crawl slowly up the shingle.
I looked around for a weapon and found a sword on an arrow-stuck body. I indicated silently to Junius and we both approached cautiously.
Junius reached down and turned the survivor over. Apparently, too weak to protest, the survivor turned over and looked at us.
'Who are you?' she said.
She spoke in a clear, cultured Greek with slight trace of the local Pontic accent. She sounded anxious.
'It's a woman!' Junius said, stepping back in surprise.
Then there was silence. The woman seemingly too exhausted to speak, we Romans too surprised. Flies buzzed around our heads, swarms of them.
Her face, despite the matted, wet black hair that stuck to it, was beautiful. Her almond eyes above the high cheek bones, were perfect and her skin smooth and pale, the colour of ivory. I mouthed a response but no words came. I reached forward to help her to her feet and she wrenched the arm away with a violence that surprised me.
'Never touch me! My husband has beheaded men for less!'
She said this in a now strong clear voice that belied her obviously wretched condition. Her eyes darted from me to Junius. She was thinking. Junius, who understood none of the words, stood still and stared.
'You must be Hypsicratea. I heard the corsairs talk about ransoming you back to your husband. What happened?'
'I do not speak to galley slaves!'
She turned and rose to her feet and I realised she could not be much older than I was. In height, she was as tall as I am and her eyes met mine in a level, withering glare. Deep, dark eyes, hard and black as cinnabar. Her raven hair hung in damp straggles over her shoulders and I noticed the naked ring marks on her fingers as she brushed the hair from her face. There was a large bruise on her forehead and a small abrasion on her lower lip. Her pink full lips framed white perfect even teeth, a rarity in modern life. I imagined how she would look smiling.
'We are not slaves,' I said, 'we are Roman soldiers, but we were captured by the corsairs.'
The Queen stepped backwards, and looked at us. Her wet gown of red cloth hung from her frame outlining her body in a way that made me look away in embarrassment at the thoughts in my head.
'What will you do with me?'
I turned to my friend.
'This is Hypsicratea, wife of Mithradates, Queen of Pontus. She doesn't like talking to us apparently.'
'You make a joke of everything Aulus,' Junius said with irritation, 'We have to take her back to Sinope, but Jupiter knows how we get there.'
'My husband would reward you greatly if you took me to him. He is a great King and a generous master. You would be rich beyond your wildest dreams,' this time in Latin.
'Your Majesty, we can't do that, for we have sworn an oath to serve Rome and letting you go free would be treachery. We're not traitors, we're soldiers.'
Hypsicratea looked down at our manacled feet. With a speed that surprised us both, she turned and ran up the sloping shingle towards the dense olive grove that edged the beach. We ran as fast as our shackles would allow, but neither of us was a match for the Queen who was sprinting away from us, holding up the edge of her gown.
Junius tripped and cursing, struggled to get to his feet again. I came to a halt next to him as Hypsicratea vanished into the olive grove. Her belt gave a golden wink as she disappeared from view.
'Just what do we do now?' Junius said having emptied his mouth of expletives.
'We get these chains off and find her. If we ever get back to Sinope, she'll be able to lead us back here to find the treasure that now lies in the bay. I know I could never find my way back, could you?'
We found some rounded granite rocks and began to hammer each other's fetters. In the state we were in, it took a good hour before either of us had broken the chains and the effort tired us both.
'She has a good head start on us Aulus.'
'Yes but remember she looked almost as worn out as we are and that long wet gown will slow her down, anyway we're lucky'
'What do you mean? I don't think being in this mess is lucky. The Goddess Fortuna can hardly be smiling on us!' he said.
'We are the only survivors after a sea battle and wreckage. Isn't that luck?'
'No, it's because the fighting was over by the time we came on deck! Maybe it was Neptune favouring us but I think that's unlikely.'
'Likely or not I'll buy a white bull and sacrifice it to Neptune and Fortuna when we get back to Rome.'
'I'll go halves with you; you can't afford a whole bull!'
'I would have if the damned corsairs hadn't stolen my gold.'
'Knowing you, wouldn't have wasted it on a bull anyway, I've met more pious men in taverns.'
'Maybe not, but right now we have to get that woman back.'
I wrapped the longer of the two ends of chain around my ankle and tucked it into my sandal strapping. Junius followed suit and we began to trudge up the beach to where we had seen the Queen disappear.
It was tiring work. The jagged rocky surface above the beach made walking difficult, but once into the olive trees, we found the going easier. We had no idea at first which direction the Queen would have taken, but we saw some indications, with small footprints in some mud, a freshly broken twig and a tiny piece of her gown torn off by an overhanging branch.
Within two hours, we had mounted a steep escarpment above the olive trees and both felt at the end of our physical resources. We looked down across a wide valley. There was a forest in the distance and a stream flowing through a gulley in the valley's base. We looked down and saw to our relief, a flash of red.
'You see it?' I said.
'Yes she's coming back this way.'
'She's running fast.'
'Don't think she can see us in these trees, do you?'
'No. let's wait until she's nearer. I don't think I could run after her.'
'No, I'm finished,' Junius said.
Invisible in the trees at the top of the valley, we stood still and watched, peeping around the bole of the tree from time to time. The Queen was retracing her steps.
After the passage of five minutes, I peeped out from behind the tree again and could make out her face. She looked wide-eyed and frightened. Something had panicked her and I was grateful for the sword I had picked up on the beach. I was in no fit state to fight but I would protect the Queen even if it meant my life.
r /> Still we waited. The immobility allowed our tired limbs to regain a little strength. There was a scream. We looked at each other and with the same thought in mind both broke cover and emerged from the tree line simultaneously. What we saw surprised and terrified us both.
The Queen had backed up against the bole of a tree and a huge black bear stood swaying from side to side before her, massive claw-adorned paws waving and slashing the air. The bear bellowed in anger as if uncertain whether the woman before him was a morsel of food or an enemy. Twenty paces away we emerged, running downhill waving swords and shouting at the top of hoarse voices. The bear was distracted. It looked at us and looked back at the terrified woman and decided discretion might be the right choice. It backed away still on its hind-legs and then turned and walked almost casually down the hill, glancing over its shoulder occasionally.
We approached the Queen who ran to us and placing her arms around my neck put her head on my shoulder and wept. I had no idea what to do. I patted her gently on the back and said, 'All right, all right, it will be fine,' as if talking to a child, but I could not escape the look of mirth on my breathless friend's face. Aware that I had the wrong approach at least in Junius' view, I gently prised her arms from around my neck and asked if the Queen was 'all right'.
'Yes, yes, thank you,' she said and pushed me away, as if recovering her dignity, 'I disturbed the bear with its cub and it chased me. I was certain it would kill me.'
Her legs buckled beneath her and she sat shocked and exhausted on the yellow grass at our feet.
'Your Highness, if you promise not to run away again we won't tie you up, but if we can't trust you, then you will have to be bound. We're taking you back to Sinope whatever happens,' I said, leaning on the sword in my right hand. I was clearly worn to a ravelling too and the thought of another chase in my present condition was as welcome as another day of rowing.
'You would tie up the Queen of Pontus?' she glared at me as she had on the beach.
'We mean you no harm but we cannot let you go,' Junius said, 'In any case as you have seen these are not very safe lands for a woman on her own and you need protection if nothing else.'
'Please take me to my husband. He really would reward you with more gold than you can imagine.' Tears appeared in the corners of her eyes and they widened in a way that plucked at my conscience.
'We've heard that before, Your Majesty,' I said, 'we have to take you back.'
'Very well I promise, but it is a long walk back to Sinope and much can happen. Do not expect me to protect you from my people if they wish to liberate me.'
'Your protection is the last thing we would expect I can assure you,' Junius said.
It was late afternoon but the heat lingered and all three of us were tired, hot, thirsty and hungry. We had to rest, for extreme weariness from the day's events was overtaking us. Junius went into the woods from which he and I had emerged and left me alone with the Queen.
'Right now, my husband is feasting with his nobles in a great hall in Armenia. His spies sent me a message that they are well treated by Tigranes the King, and he lives only for the day when he can take back his kingdom from the Romans, who we regard as vermin.'
'I know nothing of such things Your Majesty. All I know is that I need to get back to my legion and that politics and great battles are for kings and politicians, not us ordinary soldiers.'
There was silence then until Junius returned with some roots, berries and olives.
'Here, we can eat these and hope to get some proper food if we find a farm.'
'There are very few farms in this region. We must be east of Tripolis, a small town on the north coast. If we walk west we will certainly come across a coastal town or fishing village.'
'You'd like that wouldn't you?' Junius said, 'then you can get us off your back. I know just what you are thinking.'
'But we must get food and water.'
'Water is easy. We will surely find a spring, and food we can steal. We won't be entering any towns or villages, for you to summon help in.'
A frown of irritation crossed her brow.
'You really don't trust me do you?'
'There are no stupid farmers in Aretium, I can tell you. After that beach episode, I would rather trust that bear we scared off.'
'We should get a little rest and then set off. We have a long way to walk,' I said, pacifying.
I had the feeling that there was a distinct dislike growing between the Queen and my comrade and I hoped it would not worsen. The physical difficulties of the next few days would be bad enough without having to listen to the Queen and Junius bickering all day. I thought it would drive me mad if it were so.
We rested for a couple of hours and then began our journey in a westerly direction as dusk approached, with aching limbs and deep sighing breath from the sheer physical effort.
It was late evening before we saw a light across a valley, high up on a crag overlooking the seascape.
'Maybe a house or a farm. We had better approach quietly,' Junius said. We made our way towards the light but the distance was greater than we had anticipated and it took a further two hours of descent and climb on rocky slopes.
We reached the top and found, tucked into a sheltered area behind huge rocks that there was a farmhouse. The light of a fire flickered through the open door and we heard the sound of sheep lowing in a pen nearby.
'Please, don't kill them,' the Queen said.
I looked at her. 'We're Roman soldiers, not brigands. We won't harm anyone unless they attack us. If you don't give us away, I promise no harm will come to anyone in the farm, but we need food and drink.'
'If you both promise, I will speak for you. Please, no violence. These are simple farming folk and they won't harm you.'
'You have our word as Romans,' I said.
She looked at me with a look of distain as if she felt that was an exceptionally poor recommendation.
We approached the open doorway slowly. The Queen spoke loudly in the Pontic tongue. It was a very different language from any that I understood and was closer to Armenian than Greek. I realised that she could betray us even now and who could blame her if she did? We were part of a conquering army and this was her homeland. I wondered if I would have done the same, had fate reversed our positions.
A farmer and his young wife owned the farm. There were two small children sleeping in one corner of the one-room farmhouse. A fire burned in the hearth, its light darting and wavering across a smoky, sparsely furnished room.
As soon as they heard the Queen's voice, they began talking in a fluent language that could have meant anything.
'I told them that we are merchants and that we were shipwrecked up the coast. I said we have to return to Sinope and they said they would give us food and a place to sleep. My people are always hospitable to strangers. Maybe that is how you Romans managed to overrun our country.'
The farmer a young man with bow-legs and an eager smile, produced bowls of mutton stew and freshly baked bread. We ate, with a relish that was the product of a day equalling any we had ever experienced, for stress and physical strain. After the meal, we spent the night with the Queen between us two Romans against a cold, stone wall. I slept the deep sleep that only true exhaustion could produce, clutching the green stone at my neck.