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A Lady of Famous Might

"Be welcome, Areus, to our trading station", the lady spoke with a soft and clear voice: "You wish to tell me from where you got your piece of amber . It is quite nice, of almost first-class quality, except that it is a bit cloudy on one side. Regrettably, no enclosure. But still, nice indeed. - Ah, yes, and you wanted to sacrifice your sweet little lamb to the bull-god, didn't you?""

Areus never had heard the word amber before, and was utterly confused by the miraculous appearance of the lady. - "Amber?" he stuttered, "Yes. The lamb... Who are you?"

"You wanted to talk to me. Or so Morges, this brave guardian, told me. But now don't tarry to disclose your secret and don't make me wait."

The lady faced him squarely, not unfriendly, but not really friendly either. Rather she observed him like one would do with an interesting animal: his uncombed long black curly hair, his short beard in the fashion of the foresters, his hairless chest, with muscles not matching Morges', but telling of toughness and stamina, his strong hands with a peasant's short broken finger nails.

Areus felt totally uncomfortable. As a matter of fact, his in-laws had given him the lucky stone from old family heritage for a wedding present. No information to kindle the Keftian's interest. Worst case: he might get rid of the stone and end up in front of the gates of the palace. If he wanted to achieve anything, right now it was his turn to say something interesting. And he never had negotiated business with a woman, even less with a lady of such looks.

Lerna came to his mind. Hadn't he lately heard about this town in a safe distance, far away in the north? - "A kinsman from Lerna has sold it to me. For quite a fair amount."

She frowned. - "Your kinsmen dwell in dangerous places. The Kurgan may not understand the charms of amber, but they sure know a lot about looting, pillaging and murdering. A shame what happened there." - Areus winced and started to remember what they had told him about this place. It had been sacked or so. He would have loved to swallow up his silly statement, but now he had to continue somehow: "I have heard something about it. What happened there?" - "Layed waste to the complete city. Ancient and holy buildings, the famous temple with its fair and beautiful roof of baked tiles. Unbelievable brutes." - "Who are those brutes?" - "We know little about them. Too little. They ride huge horses and come from the north. We cannot talk to them. Even if they were willing to listen. We don't understand their language." - She laughed bitterly and threw a taxing look at him which he didn't notice.

Instead he continued: "Is this why your merchants didn't visit us? Are you afraid? We sold you excellent wool every year and cannot understand why you stayed away without notice."

"We are not afraid, my dear", the lady replied with the sweetest voice: "This is not the first time that new peoples show up in one of the lands off this shore and create a mess. And it is not the first time, by the way, that Lerna was sacked. From our archives we know that it happened before, about five hundred years ago. The marauders of then were called Luwians. We knew how to deal with them. And you can rest assured: we will buy your wool again, if we need it. Your piece of amber you can keep, and if you still wish to sacrifice your lamb to Kouros, Morges will assist you. May Gaia be with you and guide you safely on your path back to your loved-ones." - In leaving, she added: "I don't think that your amber comes from Lerna. You don't have relatives there." - And gone she was.

Morges sneered at him and flexed his muscles. - "So what about your lamb? If you want to take it with you, that's allright. But be gone now. We don't need nosy visitors lingering about here."

Once the elfish epiphany had left the room, Areus regained his composure. Plus, he was furious about being depicted as a liar. So he shouted: "Point one. I have offered you this lamb for your bull-god and you have accepted that offer. There is nothing for me to take home. Point two. You are quite nicely under strain. You could benefit from an ally." - Now Morges bursted out laughing: "So you want to be our ally? Thank you so much. We will have to deal with this situation ourselves."

He took the lamb's rope from Areus and led it to the grand hall with a carmine pillar in its center. With his right hand he seized a bronze double axe, put his left hand to his forehead and said solemnly: "Kouros, take this lamb, which gives away its life, for your children to live in safety and piece. To this man from the Laconian forests by the name of Areus, give strength, health and long life!"

With a fast cut of the double axe, and before the lamb relized what happened to it, he opened its cartoid and let its blood pulse into a cup on the floor. The lamb quivered a short while, then it was dead. Morges placed it on a large stone embedded in the floor, took the cup filled with the lamb's blood and poured it on the base of the red pillar. Around the base was a drain gutter, carrying the liquid into the ground.

"Accept our thanks for your lamb. Kouros will guide and strengthen you." - He opened the two-winged gate and said: "Now fare well. We will return to your village on the banks of the sea. Be patient." - And he closed the heavy gate behind Areus.

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