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Fenugreek Insights

The morning sun burned down on the little group of men marching through the brushwood of the Dafnon river's small delta. They were tired, thirsty, exhausted and concerned. They were more than a day late, had run out of water, and had violated explicit orders by attacking three of the enemies on their journey. - "We have the horses", Sthenelos tried to reassure them. - "We should give him the silver cup first thing", Areus pondered, "and hopefully, we are not too late."

When they reached the small fortified town of Zakton in the valley, all their concerns melted away. Zakton was celebrating: "The savages are on the run!" - Areus and Sthenelos were at once brought to the eldest. Amynander, Areus' father-in-law greeted the two joyfully. He embraced Areus: "My dear son, what a joy". - When Areus presented the cup, he took a deep look at it: "Breathtaking. Enamel painting. Niello. I heard about it. Never seen one. Do you see the golden wildcat sneaking up to the black partridge? This must be from Keft. Noone else can do this." - When the two men told him where they had found it, he commented: "Who knows where they stole it from?"

Areus inquired about the reason for the celebrations in town, and Amynander responded: "The celebrations are premature indeed. But let me tell you what happened, my son. It must have been a week ago, in the middle of the night of the full moon. From what we hear, Keftiu ships attacked several of their camps at once. The bearded hordes must have lost quite a few men. Now they have retreated from the coast altogether. So everyone is excited, because the imminant danger is gone, or so it seems." - Then he paused and added: "But this is very short-sighted. If we let them recover further inland, they will come back one day. We cannot rest now. This is what the council has decided upon this morning."

In the north, the steep face of the Koromplia mountain towered above Zakton. Just at the foot of this mountain on the opposite side, one of their scouts had reported a large encampment of the bearded hordes, almost a small town. On the plain, but immediately adjacent to the mountain's north edge. Such was it located that for a practiced scout reportedly it was possible to directly approach the place unnoticed. And this was the council's resolution: In the middle of this night a major force would stealthily cross the mountain and at the crack of dawn ambush the town of the bearded men and raze it to the ground completely. The several small auxiliary forces from villages to the south - of course - were invited to participate and share the glory of this action.

Areus was invited for dinner by his in-laws. After they had eaten, wine was served and they munched fenugreek seeds sautéed in barley oil. - "I noticed your orchards and your fields. They look prolific, and your harvests will be prosperous every year", Areus started the conversation. Amynander replied: "The better the crops, the more rascals pitch into them. Single thiefs we can handle. Last year we had a whole pack of rovers and we had substantial loss. Now I am worried about the Kurgan. You are all by yourself in your cauldron. We sit here in a fishbowl. The better we are, the more enviers we attract."

Dryope, his mother-in-law, then asked Areus about her daughter and granddaughter, and he reported about the general well-being of Mittentown, their regular trading with Keft, and finally he told about his journey to the emporium in Soleway: "They stopped buying our wool, and I have to find out what's about it." - He didn't mention the amber, nor the loom he was dreaming about.

"The Keftiu are a strange people, and it is hard to understand them", Amynander explained to him: "They have rule over the islands of our sea. Their kings descend from Poseidon. He fell in love with an orphan, begat her and brought up five pairs of twin male children; these are the ancestors of the present ten Kefian kings. Each of the ten kings in his own division and in his own city has the absolute control of the citizens, and, in most cases, of the laws, punishing and slaying whomsoever he would. The kings gather together every fifth or sixth year and consult about their common interests. But beware, they are as cruel as they are wise. This is confirmed by their custom to sacrifice the first-born children to the ten kings. When you deal with them, my son, never forget that they are much more dangerous than it seems."

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