The gap year, p.18
The Gap Year, page 18
“What? You’re just jealous that humans aren’t fast enough to play ‘sniff the squirrel.’” Indy shifted in her harness to get it to lie straight again. “I could’ve caught him too, without these heavy saddlebags.”
Anna laughed and brushed a stray flower petal from her friend’s fur as they continued walking, the squirrel chittering abuse from the tree behind them.
Once they came to the road, Thrasius quickly oriented himself, then looked back the way they had come. “I’m not sure I’d try that way again without a guide.” He smiled. “But you’re right, we did save ourselves a few miles, going south of Mount Laphystios instead of north.”
Another name difference, Anna noted silently to Indy. Like Livadeia being called Lebadeia back here. Alixa, could you update the map please?
Change noted, came Alixa’s cool reply. Laphystios to Granitsa, sometime after 500 BC.
This is going to be really annoying if every name on our map is wrong. Anna felt like that shouldn’t matter so much, since they at least knew the general features of the land. But somehow not knowing what to call the places they were traveling through made her feel weirdly unmoored.
Thrasius set off at a modest pace along the road to the right. “You two aren’t used to walking long distances, so we’ll take it easy at first.”
Indy snorted. “I think we can handle this.”
“Take it from an old traveler.” Thrasius held up his hands in a placating gesture. “Walking all day might not sound that hard to you youngsters. But if you go too hard without working up to it, you’ll regret it. We’ll have to spend two nights on the road regardless, so there’s no point pushing it and ending up with blistered feet.”
“And one more thing, before we meet any other travelers.” Thrasius paused, glancing both ways along the road. “It’s probably best not to talk about your origins too openly where we’re going. In Lebadeia, Leitus was sort of your unofficial sponsor, and in smaller towns people aren’t too strict in any case. But in Athens, foreigners need to have a citizen sponsor within a month, and they’re required to pay a special yearly tax. It’s not a very big tax,” Thrasius added at Anna’s look of concern, “but you don’t want to get on the wrong side of the law.”
Indy looked at Thrasius. “What would the wrong side look like?”
“It shouldn’t be an issue,” Thrasius said. “If you end up staying longer than a month, I could ask my brother for help, or I could even sponsor you myself, if need be. Though I might not be the best choice, if anyone in Athens has heard about my checkered past.” He looked uncomfortable. “In theory, you could get sold into slavery if your status wasn’t in order and someone forced the issue. But we won’t let that happen.”
“Is slavery that common in Athens?” Anna lowered her voice, though there was no one to hear but the three of them. “I don’t remember seeing any slaves in Lebadeia.”
Thrasius sighed, taking off his hat briefly and rubbing his head before resettling it. “This is too nice a day to spoil with such a topic. But I promise,” he said quickly as Anna opened her mouth, “I’ll tell you everything you need to know before we get there.”
They continued walking, the mood more sober now. The road was not quite what Anna had expected, more of a wide trail than a surfaced road. It was cut here and there by narrow streams running right to left, but these were mostly small enough to step across. Thankfully the spring rains hadn’t been too heavy so far, or they’d probably have been ankle-deep in mud in some places. Still, the going was mostly good.
There wasn’t a lot of traffic on the road, which suited Anna fine after Thrasius’ warning. Off to their left, they had initially passed farms and fields at some distance. But now the plain on that side was narrowing, with a haze of greenery coming closer as they walked.
Indy stopped and scented the air. “Thrasius, is there water around here somewhere?”
“You could say that,” Thrasius said with a smile. “Just a little further and you’ll be able to see it more clearly.”
Why would water be a surprise? Anna said. I can’t check the map on my phone with Thrasius here.
My collar says there should be nothing but a much wider plain off to the left, Indy said. But I definitely smell moisture.
Anna shaded her eyes, beginning to see sunlight glinting off water up ahead.
“Lake Kopais.” Thrasius made a sardonically grand gesture. “It’s still a bit hard to see until we get closer, but that’s where they catch some of the best-tasting eels in all of Greece, or so I’m told. Not partial to them myself, but you’ll find them for sale all over these parts.”
The lake grew on their left as they continued, though the road skirted widely around it to avoid what looked like marshy ground that was quite overgrown in places. Where streams ran down to the shore, wading birds hunted in the reeds, and the bushes were full of their cousins calling out to each other.
Ah, found it! Indy said. Finally, all our useless modern history data is coming in handy. She grunted with disgust. It sounds like some idiots drained this whole lake in the late 1800s to grow cotton. I’ve noted it on our map, though we’ll have to send out drones to trace the shoreline.
They should have left it, Anna said. What kind of person would want to destroy this? “It’s beautiful,” she said out loud to Thrasius.
He smiled back. “This is one of my favorite parts of the trip. Bit of a pain to live too near it, though. It floods in the winter some years, and there’ll be mosquitoes soon.” He looked around, gauging their position. “Another half hour, it’ll be time for a break.”
Anna was relieved to hear it. After a few hours of walking, Anna could see the wisdom of Thrasius’ earlier advice to take it slow. Her feet had toughened to Greek sandals over the last months, and she’d walked all up and down their mountain, but she wasn’t used to walking long distances at a steady pace.
I’ll be glad for a break, Indy said, echoing Anna’s thoughts. The big hybrid didn’t look tired exactly, but her tongue hung out in a steady pant. Working sheep was good for my endurance as well as my soul, but adding heavy saddlebags changes the equation.
By and by, the road swung away from the lake, and they began to see signs of habitation as they neared a town their maps called Aliartos, which Thrasius referred to as Haliartos.
“Ah!” Thrasius perked up as a delicious smell wafted across the road. “I was hoping he’d be open by now.” He made off to the left, where Anna could see a small cluster of buildings, with a thin stream of white smoke rising from one.
Anna cocked an eyebrow at Indy, but the two followed behind their guide. After a few moments, it was obvious that the savory smell was coming from straight ahead. Anna’s stomach growled loudly, and drool began to hang from one of Indy’s jowls.
Thrasius walked straight up to the compound, which consisted of a low cottage, a few sheds, and a small barn, all fronting stock pens and gardens that were further away from the road. The smoke was coming from a low stone structure outside one of the buildings. A man stood nearby, working at a table with some sort of utensils, and a few travelers stood about, eating something held in two hands.
“Doros!” Thrasius called out. “Is that the first pig of the season I smell?”
“The second!” Doros called back, looking up from his table with a smile. He was a small man, browned from long labor out of doors, but with an open face and an easy manner. He set aside a carving knife and fork, and strode over to clasp hands with Thrasius.
“Good to see you again! It’s been a couple of years, it seems like.” Doros looked at Anna. “And who is your fellow traveler?” Indy grumbled mentally at being left out of the greeting, but held her peace.
“This is Anna, a traveler and guest of some old friends from near Lebadeia,” Thrasius said, rolling out the story they had agreed on previously. “And this is Indy, her doughty companion.” He indicated the big hybrid with a wave.
“She’s a big one, sure enough!” Doros spoke with obvious admiration. “Size like that, I would’ve thought she was a wolf, if not for the coloring and the sturdier legs.”
I’ll show him sturdy legs, Indy groused. She smacked her chops to clear the saliva from her lips.
“Too big for herding, but she could probably rival Kerberos at guarding a flock!” Doros continued, undaunted. “And look at those muscles! She must be strong as a horse!”
I like this one, Indy said, instantly reversing her opinion of the man.
Doros walked around Indy to admire her lines, then withdrew, shaking his head in wonder, though dog-wise enough not to try touching her. “Young lady, if you ever think you’d like to get a litter from her, just come back here next time she’s about to go into season. I’ll put my big boy Argos to her. He’s as fine a herder as you ever saw, and even-tempered to boot. Quite the ladies’ man, too, though this big bitch might be a challenge even for him!” Doros laughed aloud at the thought.
I don’t think that’s so amusing, Indy said sourly. As if I’d mate with a common dog, out in a field somewhere!
Shush, Indy, you can tell he means well, Anna said. And who knows, she added impishly, maybe this Argos is a very handsome dog.
“Thank you, friend Doros.” Anna grinned as Indy spluttered in outrage over their link. “I’ll be sure to keep your kind offer in mind.” Then her stomach growled again at the delicious smell, embarrassingly loud. “I’m sorry, we haven’t eaten since this morning, and it’s been a long walk. What is everyone eating?”
Doros smiled again, obviously on familiar territory. “We’ve got a special way of cooking meat, down here on the plains.” He indicated the small stone building that they’d seen earlier. “You build a low fire in there, and throw in some seasoned wood chips every so often, for the smoke. You hang the meat up over the fire, not close enough to burn, so you can leave it in there for half a day or more. Then you take it out, carve it, and wrap it in one of these pitas.” He picked up a flat round of brown bread from his table to demonstrate, carving thin slices of pork from a platter on the table, laying them on the pita, then slathering on some sort of thick paste from a bowl. “Garlic paste, with a little vinegar,” he said at Anna’s look. He handed the whole thing to Thrasius, who already had an eager hand out.
Thrasius bit into his pita with relish, meat juices running down his chin. “Ah, just as good as I remember! My life took a bad turn last year.” He looked briefly shamefaced, though Anna thought he covered it well. “But I’m recovering. I should’ve come back long before now.”
“Agreed,” Doros said with a smile. “And for the young lady?” He looked back at Anna. “We’ve got eel too, fresh out of the lake yesterday and nicely smoked. We even have roasted vegetables for a humbler snack.”
“I’ve only ever had the pork, myself,” Thrasius commented between bites. “I always tell myself I’m going to try the others next time, but then when I get back here that smell always changes my mind for me.”
“I’ll have two of the roasted vegetable,” Anna said. Then she wavered. “Well, make that one vegetable and one eel.” Somehow eel doesn’t seem as bad as pork, even though I know they’re both animals, she said to Indy.
“Oh, and another eel and a pork, please,” Anna said, catching Indy’s thought midsentence. “But easy on the garlic for the last two. They’re for this one here.” She pointed to Indy.
“Good thinking, young lady.” Doros filleted more eel with practiced gestures. “Some people call me extravagant for feeding Argos on meat, but the bigger breeds need a good amount to keep up their muscle.” He smiled. “Plus, my boy loves it, and I can’t deny him anything. I like to feed lamb myself, but pork’s just as good.” He put together their pitas in moments and handed them over smoothly. “That’ll be one hemi for all five, please.”
Anna fumbled one-handed for a moment in her pouch, then handed Doros a small silver coin. Good thing I did my homework on this weird money before we left. A hemiobol was one half an obol, which itself was one sixth of a drachma. A half-drachma per day was enough for a poor person to live on comfortably, so a twelfth of a drachma for five pitas seemed perfectly reasonable. Besides, I’m really hungry!
“Thank you, Anna.” Thrasius spoke around a mouthful of his pita. “I’ll pay for us next time. I was too busy stuffing my face!”
“Thank you for leading us here,” Anna said. “These things remind me of the way they cook at home.” She reached into one of Indy’s saddlebags and pulled out a wide flat bowl, then placed it on the ground and put Indy’s two pitas in it, since she couldn’t very well use her flexible paws to eat in front of strangers. Indy leaned down and daintily nipped a bite out of one of the pitas, chewing it thoughtfully. Then she quickly snapped up the rest of the pita and smacked on the whole thing open-mouthed.
Doros laughed. “Now that’s an endorsement!” Then his eyes flicked to something over Anna’s shoulder. “Excuse me, but business calls. Nice to meet you, Anna. Remember my offer! And good to see you again, Thrasius!” Doros moved back to his table, then hailed the next two approaching customers with a loud greeting.
“Doros probably knows the name and favorite order of everyone who travels this road,” Thrasius said to Anna. She was just biting into her pita as Indy noisily started in on her second. “He opens up shop here when the weather’s good, and does a pig every few days. It’s a good way to make money, since you’re getting the price of a finished product instead of selling the whole animals at market. And with the road to Thebes going right past here, it’s a good location.” He frowned ruefully. “I hadn’t come by here since I went broke, and… well, you know. Forgot how good they were.”
“These are really good.” Anna finished her vegetable pita, then took a tentative bite of the eel, chewing it carefully so she didn’t choke on one of the tiny, thin bones. The garlic had been roasted before being whipped into a paste, so it wasn’t too strong, and a dash of vinegar cut the fatty flavor of the eel nicely. She finished it with guilty relish, then wiped her fingers on a rag. She picked up Indy’s bowl, which had been polished clean, and tucked it back into her saddlebag. The three of them waved goodbye to Doros and walked on, a low fence beside them on their left. Beyond the fence lay pastureland, dotted with sheep cropping the spring grass, and out past that the brush that must mark the edge of the marshland around the lake.
“An excellent lunch, Thrasius.” Indy spoke once they were out of earshot of the other travelers. “Feel free to schedule as many stops like that as you like.”
Anna laughed, and Thrasius did too, after a brief moment of surprise at Indy addressing him directly. “Don’t worry, I know all the best places from here to Athens,” he said with a smile.
He’s gotten used to you pretty quickly, Anna said. But you can tell that sometimes he’s still not expecting you to talk.
For a lunch like that, I can forgive a lot, Indy said as they walked. And besides, you can hardly blame him. If cats could suddenly talk, I don’t think I’d ever get used to it.
Out in the distance, Anna saw a big herding dog look up from his sheep and spot them. He watched them go for a moment, then trotted toward them lazily, long legs covering the ground with ease, before slowing to a walk as he matched their course on the other side of the fence.
He was a brown-and-black shepherd, with a shaggy mane of hair and a noble bearing. A huge dog, he must’ve weighed in at one hundred and forty pounds if he was an ounce, though Indy still had thirty pounds and a few inches on him at the shoulder. His calm eyes looked them all over, but then fastened on Indy and stayed there. He matched her pace smoothly, gazing at her through lowered eyelids.
“This must be Argos.” Thrasius smiled knowingly. “Doros was right about him being a ladies’ man.”
Anna snickered and looked at Indy, who was walking along with an elaborate lack of concern. Argos chuffed as he walked, then chuffed again when Indy didn’t respond. Then he trotted forward a few steps, sniffed at the next fencepost, and backed away slightly.
“Oh, all right,” Indy said with mild annoyance.
Argos’ ears oriented on her when she spoke, but he stood his ground expectantly as Indy bent her path over to the fence and sniffed at the same fencepost. After a moment, Argos stepped forward again and joined her, keeping the side of his head toward hers, not going face to face. They sniffed the post lightly together, then Argos backed away a step. He shook to fluff out his mane, then backed up a step more, still gazing at Indy. Then he flicked his head, turned, and trotted away, back to his flock.
Indy rejoined Thrasius and Anna, and they walked together in silence for a moment. “He seemed very nice,” Thrasius ventured.
“I’m sure he’s a very good herder.” Indy’s tone didn’t invite further comment, but her eyes hadn’t left Argos’ retreating form. She pulled her eyes away with a guilty sideways glance, then shook out her fur and trotted on ahead, leaving Anna and Thrasius to share a smile as they hastened to catch up.
32
Haliartos turned out to be a walled city near the shore of Lake Kopais, backed up against low hills and commanding a number of passes that led out of the lake’s broad valley. They had already eaten lunch, so they bypassed the city proper and turned right toward someplace their maps called Thespies, which Alixa duly corrected to Thespiai after Thrasius mentioned its current name. The road out of Haliartos climbed gradually up into low hills, but it was still relatively easy walking.
The mid-afternoon sun was beginning to descend when they came to a monument of some kind by the roadside. Anna could see a stone pillar, man-high and rectangular with what looked like a ball on top. As they walked closer, she could see that the ball was actually the carved head of a man with a full beard.
“It’s a herma,” Thrasius said, seeing Anna’s look. “A statue of Hermes,” he elaborated.
“Is it some kind of milestone?”
“Usually they mark a crossroads.” Thrasius gestured to illustrate. “This time it’s just a path crossing this main road, but this is our turn-off.”
