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Legends Never Die: Parthenon (ch. 50)
🕑 Added 2023-08-02 14:51:12 +0000 UTCThe men were eager, I found. While trading was my intention, they sought battle and war. It was their own way to enrich themselves, and with near a thousand Saxons having joined us, they were ready to plunder and prove themselves. On the journey over, two hundred sets of riveted mail had managed to be completed. The task was proving to be more time consuming than expected, but two hundred sets was more than enough to make many men jealous of the armor.
Their excitement was only matched by my reluctance as we sailed away from the greatest city in the world to do battle against the Greeks. We were so close to entering it, to witness its splendor, only to sail away. However, as much as I wanted to, I couldn't let my reluctance show.
"What is the source of the conflict within Greece?" I asked Michalis, who had chosen to stay with us, even though he could have stayed behind. He saw opportunity, I suspected. The wind carried us to the south west, where we would find this land of the Greeks, but this was a very different situation for me than it had been in Saxony. When I first met King Widukind, I had been accompanied by Jarls. The Saxons were kin to my people, or near enough. The Franks had been foreigners to rebuff…
This was different. This was fighting against strangers for strangers in a strange land.
"Foreigners, mostly," Michalis said with an air of disdain. We were seated at the front of my ship, the figurehead of a roaring dragon was removed to not offend the spirits of this strange land. "The Slavic people have flooded into the Greek lands, driven there by the Bulgarians to the north of Constantinople. I dare to say that they outnumber the Greeks two to one at this point and they never called the Romans their empire or people. They gained enough prominence that they dared to rebuff the Emperor when demanded the destruction of their icons."
Thorkell sat on the edge of the ship, his arms crossed while Olek sat across from him. Beyond the two, I saw Astrid pretending that she wasn't listening from behind her brother Hoffer, who seemed genuinely oblivious to her presence. The last member of the impromptu war meeting was a man named Alfric -- a Saxon noble with a hair and beard as black as pitch in his early twenties. He had inherited his prominence due to the fact that he was Jarl Aldmund's fifth son, but it would remain to be seen if he would keep the position. I only allowed it because he spoke Norse in addition to Germanic.
"Icons?" Thorkell questioned, cocking his scarred eyebrow.
"Religious icons. Depictions of Jesus, his holy mother Mary, and events of the bible. The Iconoclasts find that such images are blasphemy -- they confuse the population in what they should worship. They believe that the holy scripture is all one should need for faith, not grand paintings, statues, or memorabilia." Michalis explained, and that seemed… a rather…
"What a queer people," Olek bluntly summarized what we all seemed to feel.
To that, Michalis simply shrugged. "They are not my beliefs, but I do understand the argument. Perhaps, should you be so lucky, you will enter the Hagia Sophia -- the grandest church in the entire world. You will be awed by the splendor." He sounded absolutely certain of it, and based on the little I had seen of Constantinople, I wasn't inclined to doubt him. "When you are, ask yourself -- is it the buildings and icons within that inspire such awe? Yet, it is the house of God, so should that awe not be reserved for Him?"
I did see the argument now. "They rebelled to protect these icons?"
"I believe that is the excuse they used rather than the truth. They simply didn't want to pay service to the Emperor and stopped sending their taxes and tribute. To my knowledge, no battle has been fought for independence as the Emperor has greater concerns, such as the Abbasid Caliphate to the east, across the Mediterranean, or the Bulgarians in the north."
"Sounds like the Romans have a number of enemies," Hoffer noted, sounding pleased that our services would be in high demand. To that, Michalis inclined his head to him.
"When you are the greatest, there are many that would see you fall to supplant you," Michalis agreed without saying as much. I pondered that for a moment and considered what we had learned. That, simply put, Rome was weakened enough that they didn't have the manpower to enforce their will on a territory a day sailing from the capital. I knew little of this Caliphate or the Bulgarians, but they must be great enemies to rival such an empire. As great as Francia, perhaps?
But, that was a distant concern. The more immediate problems came first, "In this… silent rebellion, no armies have been raised?" I asked for clarification. "There must be a leader in this revolution."
"Two ancient cities have risen to prominence," Michalis confirmed. "Athens and Patras. A distant third, however, is Sparta. The first two are located near the water while the third is further inland. Mountainous terrain, I believe, but I confess that I have never seen it myself. They lead and the rest follow."
"Cut off the head of the snake and the body will die," I voiced, earning nods all around. "which is closest? What kind of numbers do we face?" I asked, and to that, Michalis seemed pensive. I could tell that he didn't know.
"Athens would be the closest. If they were to summon an army, I would say tens of thousands," Michalis ventured, sounding uncertain. To that, Thorkell grimaced while Hoffer frowned. I think he thought Michalis was exaggerating. He had yet to fight in a battle with more than five thousand men on the field. "But that is for the region. How many each city could raise on its own… I confess that I do not know."
A month. That's how long I had to take advantage of the opportunity.
"Then we do not give them the chance to raise an army," I decided. "Speed is on our side in this. The faster we get this done, the better. No sieges." To that, Thorkell gave me a winning grin. "I say we split into two groups. The first group will consist of myself and Thorkell. With a thousand men. Olek, Hoffer, Alfric -- you three will continue onward to Patras by ship. We will take Athens first, then march to Sparta, before we join you at Patras. If you get there before us, surround the city and wait."
Michalis frowned at me ever so slightly. I imagine that he imagined it would be a great deal more difficult than that. It very well could be. Especially if we had any intentions of holding the cities. We didn't. We just needed to take them, capture whoever was leading them, and secure promises that they would honor whatever agreement they had with the Romans.
"It'll be a good opportunity to prove our skill," Alfric voiced in accented Norse. “How much distance between these cities?"
Michalis seemed more perturbed but he answered all the same. "A few days? I can't say with certainty, but I have heard that a merchant with a wagon and mule can make the journey within… four or five days."
Alfric was right. It would be an excellent opportunity to prove our skill and ability. Three cities within two weeks? A region brought back into the fold? That would be a strong introduction to any that would seek to hire us. And, in such a short span of time, the Greeks really wouldn't have any opportunity to muster a response or unify. We would be well on our way by then with captives and promises…
"These cities. They are not the enemy. It isn't like it was in Francia," I began, looking at everyone. "The Romans intend to rule them when we're done and we are strangers in this land. It would be wise to avoid making things more difficult for us in this land of Christians." I could see that they saw where I was going with this -- Hoffer and Alfric both scowled, while Thorkell and Olek simply nodded. "The looting must be minimal. Nothing that the Romans would demand that we return or call us thieves over. No thralls shall be taken. None. No, more than that -- any who harm a citizen will be flogged by my own hand."
They liked that less. "That will be… difficult," Alfric admitted, and at the very least, he was being honest about it.
"I know," I agreed, inclining my head to him. "But it is necessary. These are citizens of the Roman Empire. We cannot afford to overstep," I emphasize, knowing very well that I would be forced to discipline a number of soldiers. A mistake I had made in hindsight -- I should have already been making an effort to control the looting, but I hadn't simply because I didn't want to fracture the men who were here for riches and glory.
"We shall inform the men, Wolf-Kissed," Olek said and I nodded. They would grumble a bit, but once a few examples were made, I suspected that the grumbling would stop. So long as they got rich.
"Good. We sail on."
…
Athens was an old city, I learned. A city that had a history as rich as any king. A city so old that it had likely been built when Odin still walked Midgard as a mortal man, ignorant of his godhood. Upon seeing it, I could practically feel the age of the city. It was located just off the ocean and seated upon a tall looking cliff with steep sides. Tall yet crumbling walls stood around the city with the heart of it being another tall cliff that housed a building -- a church, I think. It too had clearly weathered the onslaught of time, but it still stood proudly.
Looking at the city itself from an attacker's eye… it would not be difficult to take. The location was not easy to attack, limiting numbers, but that was not a complication that we would have. It invested much of its defenses to a single point of failure, and once it fell, the city would fall. Of that, I was confident. I just needed to open the gates with minimal casualties and injuries.
Olek, Hoffer, and Alfric sailed onward, leaving Athens to Thorkell and myself. We landed just outside of the city. Thorkell got the men in line while I approached the gates, Astrid deciding that she was tagging along. Athens had seen our approach long before we landed, and they closed up their gates and readied their men in case we were attackers instead of traders. A wise precaution, even if I did find it somewhat annoying. As we had left our horses in Norway, I approached on foot.
"Hold there, traveler!" I heard a voice in the walls shout out as I approached. Looking up, I saw that it was a dusky skinned man with a dark beard wearing the same kind of Lamar armor that I saw in Constantinople. "What business do you have with Athens?"
"I am Siegfried the Wolf-Kissed. To whom am I speaking to?" I introduced myself, seeing bows and arrows that were aimed at me from the walls. The walls weren't taller than anything I had seen before -- I knew from experience that we could take the city. First I secure footholds on the walls, have men follow me up to fill the empty space, then I rush for the gate. Nothing that I hadn't done before.
"You speak to Elpidius, the captain of the guard of Athens," Elpidius answered.
"Well met, Elpidius and people of Athens. I am a mercenary under the employee of the Roman Empire and I have been tasked with securing your surrender so Greece will once again swear to Emperor Leo the fourth," I replied, trying to sound official. It was stretching the truth a bit, admittedly, but not to the point of breaking. "On my word, should you surrender now and should those responsible for the failure to pay the Emperor his due be apprehended, none of you will be harmed."
There was a lengthy pause and I'm pretty sure I heard someone running off to deliver my demands to whoever was in charge. However, until then, Elpidius spoke. "I saw half of your army sail up the coast. I count no more than a thousand men with you. You must be mad to believe you can sack the great city of Athens with such a pitiful force."
"I sent them away because they would be wasted here. I need no more than a thousand men to take this city," I replied, and I could tell that my confidence had shaken him ever so slightly, but I suspected that he thought that I had a secret plan with the other half of my army. And, I suppose, he was right. Only the secret plan didn't involve Athens.
By seeing them sail on, he would suspect an attack from the rear and spread his men thinner to cover all angles of attack. Thus making the front gate weaker.
There was a terse silence as he waited for the response of whoever was in charge of the city. Predictably, their answer was to refuse. "Attack these walls if you dare. Through the might of God and his servants, we shall strike you dead!" Elpidius announced, the decision made. I nodded, expecting nothing less. Astrid was practically giddy with excitement on the way back seeing as this would be her first assault on a city. The men were gathered up…
And we took Athens.
I recalled my first time scaling the walls of a fortress. The heart pounding anticipation and the roar of chaotic combat -- the first time, it was all just a blur of action and blood and death. The second time was just about as intense, but I was more aware of everything. Athens was the thirteenth city that I had assaulted, and between my experience, my gift from the gods, and the blessing that I bestowed upon Thorkell, which made him act at the perfect moment where it would matter the most?
Breaking into the city was easy. Simple. Maybe not as mundane as putting on a pair of shoes, but it almost felt so practiced that it was like it was a chore.
My warriors poured into the city with Thorkell at the helm. The civilians were screaming at how suddenly we broke through their defenses, fleeing into their homes. They were left alone as the single band of warriors broke off into smaller parts -- groups of a hundred, just like we trained. They swept the streets as the men on the walls came down, but it was already far too late. They still had the sheer numbers to force us out, but they were so disorganized that they failed to realize that and most simply started to surrender.
And, just like that, within two hours… Athens had fallen to us.
"That was a fine battle," Thorkell told me as we now walked the streets of Athens. The roads were made out of cobblestone, some of which were covered in blood. "Simple. Clean. The men listened."
"Mostly," I corrected, agreeing with the sentiment. Anyone who fought was killed. I would have liked to say only soldiers were killed, but a number of the population had tried to fight back out of fear for their homes and families. They were killed for their bravery. Warriors deaths, but unnecessary.
Thorkell nodded, "Aye, mostly." The dead were being piled up in the streets and I heard people sobbing. "But this was a success. You ever train a dog, Seig?" He asked me, making me furrow my brow at the question. "The hardest part is getting them to obey the order 'sit.' Sure, it's easy enough to make them sit down, but to make them stay seated? Even when you're waving a juicy bone in their face? That's difficult. The men managed to sit in place. No unnecessary violence to the fine people of Athens. And no looting."
He was right about that. I hadn't given that order. Actually, I had approved of looting to some degree. It was the right of the victors. However, what ended up happening was that the vast majority of the army didn’t loot at all because they didn’t know what would be considered something the Romans wouldn’t miss. In our home, foodstuffs would be most sorely missed -- animals too. Would that be the case in a foreign land? The buildings were so great and ancient, the churches gilded with gold and jewels -- would the Romans value them as we did?
It was an unintended result, but I couldn’t say that I wasn’t happy with it. They were so paralyzed with indecision that they did nothing beyond nurse their wounds and keep the peace.
This was an opportunity, I knew. One that I intended to seize.
I had considered how I would change things when it came to looting. I’d had ideas way back during my first raid, when I saw the uncontrolled chaos that almost ended in our defeat when more Saxons came barreling through the village. Then again during my time raiding throughout Francia. “Have the men break off into teams of ten to search the houses -- more if needed. Stick to the noble districts in this case. We will need to travel quickly and we can't be weighed down by the loot.”
Thorkell hummed in response but said nothing while I continued. “Have them gather everything they find at the gate. I’ll have someone mark down what they brought to keep track. When the loot is gathered, we can do claims -- if you brought it to the pile, you have the best claim to it, but we make sure that everyone gets something.” It was the simplest solution, I thought -- I saw it again and again. When the battle was over, everyone simply rushed off to find the best loot before anyone else did.
It was the fear of missing out. Of being a little too late and another finding a life-changing pouch full of gold coins, or a magic rock buried underneath a bed. In Francia, I think a third of the wounds or deaths my men suffered came from the looting after the battle. They simply ran off, breaking into a home in hopes of finding treasure or a woman and they never noticed the man behind them until a knife entered their back or slit their throat.
Everyone getting something, bringing it all to one place for distribution. I felt like those two changes would take the worst of the lack of discipline away. And, by working in teams, I could hopefully cut down on the injuries that came from desperate peasants defending their homes and livelihoods. They were attacks of opportunity and with groups, those opportunities should be fewer.
“Aye, makes sense to me. But, if we’re going to be trading, I’d try to sweeten the pot a bit,” Thorkell advised, making me look at him as we slowly made our way up the steps to the temple. “Men go for what glitters. They won’t take one look at some fabrics or pigments. Give them a reason to -- a share of the profits of what they bring to you to sell.”
I blinked. “That’s a really good idea,” I admitted and Thorkell let out a vaguely offended huff.
“I occasionally have them. Like when I joined you,” he added, thumping me in the shoulder before he broke off to start issuing the orders.
“Wine!” I called out after him, making him glance over his shoulder. “Wine and oil,” I added, and he understood the message. There. That should hopefully give me the wine and oil I needed to take advantage of the trading opportunity in Constantinople. I heard Thorkell barking orders in the distance while I reached the top of the small cliff, and reached the temple that resided on it. It was a natural position to pull back to, which was why it was no surprise to see that the nobility of the city came here.
If they had time to entrench their position, it would have been a tough nut to crack, but their focus had been on the outer walls. We had them before they realized what had happened.
There were other, smaller, buildings that were built in clusters that seemed to match what I was coming to recognize as the Greek style -- pillars and arched roofs. A group of men were forcing the nobility into one of the houses despite their protests in Greek and Latin. For the moment, I paid them no mind in favor of examining the temple itself. It was a grand building, I decided, approaching it. The marble was weathered and placing a hand on one of the pillars, I could feel the history of this place.
The people here must have felt it too, because it was plainer than what I had come to expect from churches. Still, it felt grand as I entered, the ceiling high above. I didn’t know how it didn’t collapse upon me, and as wary as I was, if it had lasted so long, I imagine it would last some time after my death. There was an odd water bed that sat before a large carved statue of the Mother Mary. Her expression seemed fiercer than what I saw in Francia. There was resolve in her expression rather than the tender care of a mother.
It hit me not a moment later. This statue wasn’t of the Virgin Mary -- or, rather, it wasn’t originally. The Christians had repurposed the statue. I saw evidence of it at the statues base, where stone was marked with the removal of something. I couldn’t tell what. “Who were you?” I asked the statue of an unknown goddess, not really expecting an answer.
What a goddess she must have been, I thought. Why else would she have such a grand holy place?
“The troublemakers have all been rounded up- whoa,” Astrid informed me, her face marked with blood splatter from the battle. Her expression was as fierce as the goddess before it changed into one of surprise. Astrid gaped up at the statue with a slack jaw and it only snapped shut when I chuckled. “This place…”
“It is an old land,” I agreed, turning away from the goddess. I didn’t know her name, but it did leave a bad taste in my mouth that a statue to her glory has been repurposed. And I think I understood the argument that Michalis had put forth -- how icons could influence faith. “How many disobeyed me?” I asked Astrid, and she was reluctant to tear her eyes away from the grand statue that stood two dozen feet tall.
She fell in step behind me, “Seven of them. Which isn’t a lot, but…” She trailed off as I swallowed a sigh. The rule breakers were kneeling on the ground outside of the temple, a handful of guards by them to make sure that they didn’t try anything. However, based on some of the expressions they wore, most of them wouldn’t dare to when they saw me. “That one broke into a home and killed a man that fled into it. That one killed a boy that was hiding behind some barrels. Those three set fire to a house. The last two…” her jaw spasmed, “rape.”
My gaze flickered across the men before me. I never really had to discipline my soldiers before. There wasn’t really a need. They did what I told them, but I never told them to not do something. This was a first for me and a first for them as well. Some of them were faces I knew. Old faces. “In the arson -- did anyone die?” I asked and Astrid's lips thinned.
“Family of six.”
“It wasn’t our fault! A damn candle was knocked over! Fell on the bedding-!” One of the warriors began but he swallowed his words when I looked at him. I held his gaze and he looked away, the fight leaving him.
“The man that fled into the building?” I asked, looking at him. He met my gaze evenly.
“He was pelting us with stones. He just about took out one of my eyes. He dropped the stones and fled like a coward when he saw that these soft soldiers wouldn’t be between us any longer, that’s why he wasn’t seen with a weapon. I broke into the house and killed him,” he admitted, and I did see a red bump on his forehead above his eye. He didn’t seem to be lying. “When I entered the house, he dropped to his knees. Couldn’t understand a word he said, but I’m pretty sure he was begging.” A coward then.
“Stand. You will pay the family a wergild worth three silver coins -- for the unnecessary death, and for the door you broke.” I decided, and the soldier seemed relieved as he stood up. My attention went to the soldier that killed the boy, and he immediately jumped to explanations.
“I didn’t see him! He just jumped out at me! I swung out of instinct and…” he gestured to his head. He was lying. Tell Spotter gave him away. To that, I said nothing, and that seemed to make him nervous before I lastly turned to the two rapers.
One couldn't look at me and one tried to appear defiant. “I gave direct orders that the population of this city were not to be harmed in any way. The others… accidents happen. Rape is a deliberate act.”
The defiant one offered a small shrug of his shoulders, “Our blood was up and we wished to sample the women of this land.” Not a defense in the slightest. Astrid growled next to me, a hand going to her dagger. I held up a hand before she did something foolish. I stopped and took a breath. Normally, it would be a lawspeaker that would decide what punishments they would receive, but I was the closest one we had at the moment. More than that, I knew I had to make an example of these men.
Disobeying me had to come at a cost.
“For the death of the boy -- five lashes in addition to a wergild of the worth of ten silver coins.” The man let out a sound of despair but quickly swallowed down his protests. “For the arson -- no lashes, but the three of you will pay the worth of fifty silver coins to their kin. In addition, you lose your share of the loot taken today.” Based on some of their expressions, I think they would have preferred the lashes. “As for the rapers… do the women still live?” I asked, and I saw their faces pale.
Astrid nodded, “Aye, they do.”
“They will decide what is an appropriate number of lashes,” I decided and the smile I got from Astrid was downright feral. The man that tried to appear unafraid and unashamed seemed shaken, while the other began to resort to pleading for mercy. They both seemed to understand what was coming for them, but I waved them away.
It was some hours later, when the looting was done and the nobles were captured, that I had the thousand men gather up to witness the sentencing. We had taken light losses in the assault -- a dozen wounded, and one death from an unlucky arrow. I stood at the center where two posts had been placed in the dirt. Word had gotten around, and I could feel the tension in the air spike when the two offenders were marched to the posts wearing only trousers.
"I gave an order to all of you before we took this city. Most of you obeyed it in a way that surpassed my expectations. For that, you will be rewarded. However, these two men deliberately disobeyed that same order that you upheld. For that, they shall be punished," I told my men before I caught Thorkell's eye and he nodded. When I returned that nod, Astrid and two women marched forward. Both seemed uncertain despite whatever reassurances they might have been given.
One suffered a bad break to her nose and one of her eyes was swollen shut, but I could see the seething anger in her lone eye when she regarded me and the man tied to the post. The other offered a bow when they came to a stop in front of me, but was unwilling to meet my gaze. "You two have been wronged against my will and orders," I told them in Greek, and that seemed to surprise them. "You will be paid-"
"I am no whore," the one with the broken nose spat at me.
"For your pain and suffering," I continued. "The men responsible are being disciplined and I thought it would be best for the party that suffered to decide a fair number of lashes," I told them before I presented two whipping sticks to them. "I cannot undo what was done, but I can give you this." The one with the broken nose said nothing before taking the stick and marched to the man who assaulted her before commencing with the single most vicious flogging I had ever seen in my life.
The pale flesh of his back began to rise with welts that quickly began to overlap. The other joined her soon after, the two women beating the men with all of their strength. The meeker of the two stopped after twenty lashes, refusing to continue when the stick broke. The other, however…
She broke a stick at fifteen, then another at forty, and a third at eighty. When she struggled to strike with her arm, she used her other, reducing the man's back to a bloody mess. The clearing was silent except for her grunts of effort, dripping with sweat, the man she struck no longer having the strength to even scream. It was only when the forth stick broke and she struggled to lift her off hand that she decided that was enough. The man was taken down from the pole, laying limply on the ground, but no one needed to be a healer to know that he'd die from the wounds.
It was a message well sent, I thought.
Simply because I knew that I would never face this problem again .
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