The Oracles of Troy (The Adventures of Odysseus)

‘Priam chose Deiphobus. My brother forced Helen to marry him there and then, against her will, while I was ordered to give up the oracles to the council of elders tomorrow night. They humiliated me, and I want revenge.’

He looked up and there was a fierce rage burning in his eyes at the memory of what had happened in the great hall.

‘Menelaus won’t be happy,’ said Eurybates, still holding the prince’s arm. ‘He was hoping the Trojans would give Helen back to him after Paris was killed.’

‘I’d hoped the same,’ Odysseus confessed, ‘but it looks like we’ll have to do things the hard way, as usual. And yet it seems Calchas was correct: the gods have disclosed the means to conquer Troy, and the one man they’ve given this knowledge to is right here before us. Is your unhappiness so great, Helenus, that you’re prepared to betray these oracles to the enemies of your people?’

Helenus nodded and Odysseus signalled to Polites and Eurybates to release him.

‘Then tell me what they are.’

‘What, now? Here?’

‘I’m a hasty man,’ Odysseus answered, with a shrug. ‘The sooner you tell me, the sooner we can carry out the gods’ commands.’

Helenus seemed hesitant, as if wondering whether the Ithacan king and his men could be trusted.

‘First you must guarantee my safety, and once I’ve told you the oracles I want to be given safe passage away from Ilium. This country is no longer my home and the gods have already foretold its doom.’

‘You have my word,’ Odysseus said.

Antiphus and Omeros had left the entrance to the temple and were now standing either side of Odysseus and Eperitus. With Eurybates and Polites, they formed a circle with Helenus at their apex.

‘Then listen to what the gods have declared,’ he began. ‘Troy will fall this year if three conditions are met. First, the shoulder bone of Pelops must be fetched from his tomb in Greece and brought to Ilium. Second, Neoptolemus, Achilles’s son, must join the Greek army, for it’s his destiny to extinguish Troy’s royal line. And third, you must take the Palladium from the temple of Athena in Pergamos. Do all these things and victory will be yours.’

‘Rob a grave, kidnap a boy and steal a lump of burned wood,’ Eperitus mused. ‘Not impossible, even if I don’t see the point.’

‘Oh, there’s a point,’ Odysseus said. ‘If this is the path laid out by the gods then you can be sure there’s a reason behind it. And it won’t be easy, either. But at least now I know what I have to do to bring an end to this war.’

He touched the small dried flower in his belt, which all the Ithacans wore to remind them of their home.

Chapter Fourteen

THE LEGEND OF PELOPS

Agamemnon’s tent was bright and airy, filled with the early morning light that filtered in through its cotton and flax walls. It was essentially the same tent he had used when the fleet had gathered at Aulis so long ago, although it was enlarged in places and the canvas panels were replaced from time to time to keep it looking clean and white. From their first arrival on the shores of Ilium, Agamemnon had refused to follow the other leaders and build himself a hut, seeing it as defeatist and a signal to the army that he did not believe in a swift victory. And as the years of war had passed, his resolve had grown stronger, though the rich furnishings, the thick furs over the floor, the wide, oblong hearth at its centre and the many guards and slaves made the tent more a palace than a temporary military headquarters.

Eperitus barely noticed the familiar surroundings as he stood with his hands behind his back, lost in his own thoughts. Helenus was beside him, noticeably nervous as he waited in the quarters of Troy’s chief enemy, while opposite him Odysseus was standing with his arms crossed, his green eyes keenly watching the three men seated on the other side of the hearth. Agamemnon, Menelaus and Nestor were bent in towards each other, their heads almost touching as they spoke together in hushed voices. Eperitus’s gaze fell on Agamemnon, whom he hated, and moved away again. If he had wanted to, Eperitus could have heard everything they said, but he preferred to think on the words Helenus had shared with him on the slow journey back from the temple of Thymbrean Apollo. Words he should have dismissed with all his heart and mind, but which even his usually resolute spirit could not.