Read Online TW07 The Argonaut Affair NEW by Simon Hawke - Free Book Online
Authors: Simon Hawke
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galley with fifty oars. Look not among the people of Iolchos for your crew, for they are plain folk and not suited to the undertaking. Send out a call throughout the land for heroes to go with you on your quest. When you have done so, cut down the stoutest branch of the Speaking Oak and bid Argus carve it into a figurehead for your ship, which you shall call the
Argo.
When you have gathered your crew of Argonauts, set sail across the Aegean Sea. Follow a course through the Hellespont to the Sea of Marmora. Pass through the Bosporous to the Euxine Sea and set course along the coastline of Mysia, Bithynia and Pontus for the land of Colchis. You will find that which you seek in the Sacred Grove of Ares in the kingdom of Aietes."
The flames abruptly disappeared and in the moment it took their eyes to become reaccustomed to the darkness, the figure behind the altar vanished. Delaney ran to the altar and looked around, but there was no sign of the woman. With the wall surrounding the Speaking Oak on all sides except the front, there was no way she could have gone except past them and there was no break in the wall. Steiger examined the altar and found nothing to indicate where the flames had come from. The heat must have been intense.
The offering was completely crisped.
"The gods have spoken through the Oracle," said Jason. "My course is clear."
Delaney frowned. "I wish to hell ours was," he mumbled.
Andre examined the tree, but it seemed solid, with no hollow space where the woman could have hidden.
She glanced at Steiger. "Technology?" she said softly. "Or magic?"
Chapter 3
Jason was faced with the same problem following the Oracle's advice as he had with coming to Iolchos and confronting Pelias in the first place, namely, lack of forethought. It apparently had not occurred to him that Pelias might have had grave reservations about giving up the throne and could easily have ordered him killed. In the same manner, it did not occur to him that he did not possess the means to spread the word throughout the countryside that there was a need for heroes to complete his crew, just as it did not occur to him that Argus, the shipwright, might expect to be compensated for his efforts in constructing a galley. Argus took the position that asking for payment for such an ambitious undertaking was not an unreasonable request. The only problem was that Jason had no money.
The brawny, graying, barrel-chested shipwright stood with folded arms, regarding Jason with amused tolerance as the youth protested that the ship
had
to be built. He promised Argus that he would be compensated for his labors after they returned with the golden fleece and he was on the throne. When the shipwright seemed unmoved by such promises, Jason invoked the gods, saying it was their will that Argus build the galley that would bear his name. This appeal to vanity did not avail, either.
"I must secure the materials with which to build your ship and I must pay the laborers who will do the work," said Argus. "Among them are faithless men who are not moved by the wishes of Immortals or the promises of kings. They are moved by more practical considerations, such as wages. I will gladly build your ship and carve your figurehead. I will even whittle you a flute if you like, but first I must be paid. If it is the will of the gods that I should build this ship, then doubtless the gods will provide you with the means to pay for it."
There was an inescapable logic to this that not even Jason could dispute, but he remained undaunted.
What Argus said made perfect sense to him. If it was the will of the gods that the ship be built, then the gods would obviously provide the means for him to pay for its construction. That it was their will was clear, so it was equally clear that the funds would be forthcoming. In the meantime, he sold his knife to buy another pair of sandals and made camp on the outskirts of the city in a crude lean-to constructed by the first three members of
Argo.
When you have gathered your crew of Argonauts, set sail across the Aegean Sea. Follow a course through the Hellespont to the Sea of Marmora. Pass through the Bosporous to the Euxine Sea and set course along the coastline of Mysia, Bithynia and Pontus for the land of Colchis. You will find that which you seek in the Sacred Grove of Ares in the kingdom of Aietes."
The flames abruptly disappeared and in the moment it took their eyes to become reaccustomed to the darkness, the figure behind the altar vanished. Delaney ran to the altar and looked around, but there was no sign of the woman. With the wall surrounding the Speaking Oak on all sides except the front, there was no way she could have gone except past them and there was no break in the wall. Steiger examined the altar and found nothing to indicate where the flames had come from. The heat must have been intense.
The offering was completely crisped.
"The gods have spoken through the Oracle," said Jason. "My course is clear."
Delaney frowned. "I wish to hell ours was," he mumbled.
Andre examined the tree, but it seemed solid, with no hollow space where the woman could have hidden.
She glanced at Steiger. "Technology?" she said softly. "Or magic?"
Chapter 3
Jason was faced with the same problem following the Oracle's advice as he had with coming to Iolchos and confronting Pelias in the first place, namely, lack of forethought. It apparently had not occurred to him that Pelias might have had grave reservations about giving up the throne and could easily have ordered him killed. In the same manner, it did not occur to him that he did not possess the means to spread the word throughout the countryside that there was a need for heroes to complete his crew, just as it did not occur to him that Argus, the shipwright, might expect to be compensated for his efforts in constructing a galley. Argus took the position that asking for payment for such an ambitious undertaking was not an unreasonable request. The only problem was that Jason had no money.
The brawny, graying, barrel-chested shipwright stood with folded arms, regarding Jason with amused tolerance as the youth protested that the ship
had
to be built. He promised Argus that he would be compensated for his labors after they returned with the golden fleece and he was on the throne. When the shipwright seemed unmoved by such promises, Jason invoked the gods, saying it was their will that Argus build the galley that would bear his name. This appeal to vanity did not avail, either.
"I must secure the materials with which to build your ship and I must pay the laborers who will do the work," said Argus. "Among them are faithless men who are not moved by the wishes of Immortals or the promises of kings. They are moved by more practical considerations, such as wages. I will gladly build your ship and carve your figurehead. I will even whittle you a flute if you like, but first I must be paid. If it is the will of the gods that I should build this ship, then doubtless the gods will provide you with the means to pay for it."
There was an inescapable logic to this that not even Jason could dispute, but he remained undaunted.
What Argus said made perfect sense to him. If it was the will of the gods that the ship be built, then the gods would obviously provide the means for him to pay for its construction. That it was their will was clear, so it was equally clear that the funds would be forthcoming. In the meantime, he sold his knife to buy another pair of sandals and made camp on the outskirts of the city in a crude lean-to constructed by the first three members of
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