A Storm at Samos

Cadfael started to his feet when he saw her reappear and set the boat rocking so violently he was forced to sit again hurriedly. She came alongside and tossed both knife and bundle into the bottom of the boat before hauling herself over the gunwale. In her excitement, she had totally forgotten her nakedness. She arrived beside him in a breathless rush, spluttering out that the first Amphora had been full of wine but this bundle was secreted at the bottom of the jar. Cadfael gaped at her open-mouthed. He was torn between her natural beauty and the curious bundle. He tore his eyes away from her and grasped the leather package. It was secured with a binding of rawhide and he used the knife to cut it. He unrolled the leather and stared in disbelief. It was a soapstone chess piece carved in the image of a patriarch.

Ariana looked from the figurine to Cadfael and back again, her face collapsing in disappointment.

“What does it mean? I thought it was part of Bohemond’s treasure. It’s worthless!”

Cadfael sat and stared. He shook his head dumbly. He could make no sense of it at all.

Down to the southeast of Samos, Nicodemus was hot and tired. He had spent the day fruitlessly trawling the depths for a wreck. Twice, the grapnel had snagged something. Once they had brought up a huge clump of weed and the second time a blackened piece of timber, so ancient and rotted that it fell apart on the deck. He was utterly convinced that no vessel had been scuttled in the near vicinity. He decided it was time to give it best and ordered course for Samos once again. He could only pray that Cadfael and the girl had enjoyed better fortune.

They were standing on the dock to greet him as the ship tied up. Cadfael’s face was showing the effects of too long exposure to the sun and the girl had a heavy look about her. Nicodemus’s heart sank. He climbed wearily ashore.

“We found nothing. And I would venture you fared little better.”

“Oh no, Nicodemus, we found something all right. The problem is that what we found makes little sense.”

The older man raised an enquiring eyebrow. Cadfael suggested they repair to Ariana’s house. Standing about on the dock could attract too much attention. Nicodemus promised to follow on once he had secured the ship. Ariana and Cadfael trudged up the hill in silence.

Ariana poured wine and she and Cadfael explained the finding of the amphorae, each one filled with wine but containing a leather-wrapped chess man. Cadfael set the six identical pieces on the table before them and Ariana added the piece she had found among her father’s clothes. Nicodemus sat and stared, his face paled and his eyes went from the pieces to Cadfael and he spluttered:

“What kind of folly is this? Such gimcrack dross cannot be worth any man’s life!”

They were disturbed by a hammering on the door. Ariana looked up in alarm. Cadfael placed a hand on her arm and rose to answer. He had scarcely unhooked the latch when we was roughly pushed backwards into the room. Two large men, each with a drawn sword, entered followed by Demetrius the Port Captain.

“Well, what have we here?”

The three friends regarded the fat man in silence. His eyes darted round the room.

“I have followed your progress with interest my friends. Now where is it?”

Ariana opened her mouth to protest but Cadfael answered quickly.

“There, upon the table.”

The fat man looked askance at the chess pieces. Anger and bewilderment chased each other across his features.

“That is it? If you lie….”

“That, Excellency, is it.”

He seemed to suddenly deflate and sat down heavily and gestured for the two toughs to step outside. Ariana handed him a cup of wine, which he all but drained at a single draught. He picked up one of the figures and glared at it as if willing it to give up its secrets. Then he glanced around the room, still suspicious that they were keeping something from him. He seemed to come to a decision and heaved a sigh.

“What do you know of this matter?”

Cadfael related everything that had befallen since he had first arrived on the Island. The Port Captain listened in silence. When Cadfael had finished he gave a tight smile.

“A fanciful tale, Captain, but I’ve no doubt you believe it. I’ll also venture that you think me one of these ‘Scorpions.’ No, don’t deny it, it’s plain upon your face.”

He tossed the chess piece he was holding onto the table; it skidded on the wooden surface, fell to the floor and shattered. A curious look came over his face. He bent down and pulled a small piece of parchment from among the sherds. He carefully unwrapped the fragment and understanding dawned slowly on his face. He began to laugh. One by one he picked up the other chess men and smashed them on the floor. All save one gave up a similar parchment.

“See! Here is Bohemond’s greatest treasure!” He smoothed out all the pieces of parchment. Each was no bigger than a man’s palm. They were covered in minute writing that appeared to Cadfael to be some sort of lists.

“What you see, my little treasure-seekers, are the names of those in Constantinople who would aid the King of Antioch.”

He looked from one blank face to the next and shrugged.

“I see that I had better explain. From what you have told me, you already know that Bohemond means to make himself Emperor. In truth, the man’s made no secret of it. I work for His Highness. Three months ago, Bohemond despatched two ships to St Simeon. He has been gathering support and money for his attempt. The Emperor was aware of it, of course, but then rumours began of a third ship – one that had gone missing – carrying the greatest prize of all.

“However, we were able to establish that there was no such ship. There was, though, a third cargo – Bohemond’s greatest treasure. It left, not from Brindisium, as had the true treasure ships, but from Constantinople itself. Then mere stupidity took a hand. This cargo was said to have been loaded by mistake onto a ship bound for Samos. I was sent here to discover what had happened.”

He picked up the head of one of the patriarch figures. It had broken off smoothly. He indicated the clean circle.

“Bohemond’s agent in Constantinople was being watched. He dare not send a courier. We would have taken him without any difficulty. Instead, it appears, he sent his information disguised in these strange chess pieces. It was a little joke. Bohemond has vowed to have the Patriarch’s head. His man decided to make him a gift of it.”

Cadfael interrupted. “But what of Tyros the Factor? Who killed him? And where is Alexandros?”

“As to the former, I can only guess. We suspected that he was involved somehow. Who knows? Perhaps one of the names on these lists took fright and tried to recover them. Perhaps there was a falling out, I cannot say.”

“And my father? Do you know what became of him?”

“I must confess I do not know. I did think for a little while that perhaps he had killed the Factor but I now doubt that very much. I can only suppose that he took fright when Tyros was murdered and has gone into hiding. I’m sorry, child, but now that I have what I sought, my task is done. I shall return to Constantinople as soon as I may. You understand, I left you free because I thought you could lead me to him and he, in turn, would lead me to Bohemond’s ‘treasure.’ Then these worthy captains took your part. I had you watched.”

Nicodemus was still struggling with what he had heard.

“Then there never was a ship called ‘The Patriarch.’ That captain, Antonius, spun Cadfael here a tale of moonbeams?”

“I don’t think so. You will recall Antonius told you his passenger was raving. I suspect the captain tried to make sense of the story and when he told his version, the man was content to let him believe so. Perhaps he said the patriarch had been shipped, and the captain heard that as the Patriarch was a ship, who can tell? The man then invented this tale of ‘Scorpions’ to give credence to the rest. I can assure you, no such brotherhood would survive long where the Emperor’s writ runs. Nevertheless, I congratulate you all. You accomplished in days that which I could not in months. Please believe me, I never meant you any harm. Now I will take my leave.”

They sat in stunned silence for a while after the Port Captain left, each alone with his thoughts. Then Cadfael rose suddenly.

“There is one more of those figures. At Tyros’s house! Do you remember, we saw it there the first day?”

“So? It is probably empty like my father’s was.”

“It’s possible, to be sure. But yet I feel there are more answers than we so far received. I shall go to Tyros’s house in the morning. It may be that there are still things hidden there that we overlooked before when we knew not what we looked at.”

Nicodemus roused himself.

“Cadfael, I still don’t understand. I can see that the lists would be of great import to the King of Antioch but it seems a deal of trouble to hide them in a chess piece.”

Cadfael smiled at his friend. He picked up the broken head that the Port Captain had discarded, turning it over in his hand. He used a thumbnail to chip away some of the soapstone. A thought struck him. He searched about among the shattered fragments sorting through the sherds until he had seven flat bases lined up on the table in front of him. He turned each of them over and cried out in triumph. On six of the bases there was a small gouge. The seventh was innocent of any markings.

The following morning the three companions climbed the hill again to Tyros house. As before, Nicodemus sprung the latch with his belt knife and they went inside. Cadfael went directly to where he had seen the chess piece and picked it up. He flipped it over to examine the base. As he suspected it was marked, but this time with a double gouge. He seized the figure in both hands and twisted sharply. The head came neatly away from the torso. He shook it slightly and a small piece of parchment fluttered to the floor at his feet. He stooped hurriedly and picked it up, smoothing out the folds as he did so. He frowned at the writing there. It was Greek script, an art he had not mastered. He handed it wordlessly to Nicodemus who shrugged.

“I lack the skill, my friend.”

Ariana took it from his drooping fingers and began to read aloud.

“If you are reading this then the worst has befallen me. Know that I served my master faithfully and trust my soul to St Anthony to intercede for me.”

“Is that it?”

“That’s all it says.”

Cadfael jumped. “St Anthony!” he sprang across the room and picked up the plaster figure of the saint and dashed it against the wall. A larger roll of parchment fluttered out. He caught it before it reached the floor and handed it to Ariana.

“Two days’ past I had word. The Emperor’s agents are on the Island. The information my master needs arrived today from Constantinople. I am sure the Port Captain suspects. I will ask Alexandros to aid me. They have hidden the lists in some chess pieces. I am to pass them on to a man who carries their twin.”

Ariana paused. “It looks like he wrote this next bit afterwards. The writing is different, as though he was in a hurry.”

She scanned ahead, her excitement rising. “Listen!” She started again to read aloud.

“Alexandros agrees to carry the cargo. We have hidden the messages in some Amphorae. Alexandros took us to a place he called St Anthony’s Bay. We hid the wine jars there. When he is able, he will recover them and take them to St Simeon. A ship came in from Constantinople. Some of the crew were asking for me by name. I am sure I’m being followed. I fear for us both. I have sent word to Alexandros to take care and trust no one who does not carry the token. I sent him a token so that they may know him as a friend. There is a new arrival in the port. I believe the captain is of our party. I told Alexandros he must go with them and tell our friends in Antioch all is well. He wanted no part of it and we quarrelled. Now I must go to meet the other captain and arrange safe passage. I can only trust in God and pray we will see the Church once more re-united.”

Nicodemus heaved a sigh of relief.

“So Alexandros is safe, at least.”

Cadfael nodded. “Safe enough for now, I think.”

He picked up the wax tablets with the cargo manifests written on them and passed then to Ariana.

“What am I looking for?”

“I don’t know.”

Ariana read through the stack of manifests. They were routine lists of cargo with the name of the shipper and the name of the recipient. It all seemed perfectly innocent. Cadfael listened in rapt concentration.

“Read that last again, Ariana.”

“From Theophelus of Nicaea, Thirty gaming pieces, samples. For Tyros the Factor.”

“Which ship?”

“Uh, yours, Nicodemus!”

“You knew?”

“No, I swear it. We unloaded everything at the warehouse. Tyros marked each item off, as always. He never said a word.”

Cadfael nodded. It made sense that they would use one of Ioannis’s vessels. That way Tyros would not have to explain to another Factor why he was receiving gaming samples.

“Why did you do it, Nicodemus? Why did you kill Tyros?”

Ariana stared at Cadfael as though he were mad. He ignored the girl’s face and kept his eyes on Nicodemus.

The older man shrugged. “Because I am a loyal servant of the Emperor.”

Ariana let out a gasp. She turned her face from one to the other, the colour had drained from her.

“But you used my oar! You meant to blame my father, he was your friend!”

Nicodemus gave her a tired smile.

“Yes, he was my friend but he was also a traitor. I could not stand by and see our Church and Empire delivered into the hands of some bastard Norman.”

“So you pretended to search for him all the while knowing what had happened.”

“I didn’t know it all. I tried to get Tyros to tell me. He wouldn’t talk. He laughed when I called him traitor to his face. Then you came with the story of Bohemond’s greatest treasure and I thought that was it. When you told me all that you had found was a few chess pieces, I was at a loss. I swear I do not know what became of Alexandros.”

“But you still managed to alert the Port Captain. You sent word of where to where to find us last night.”

“How long have you known, Cadfael, old friend?”

“I began to suspect last night. You said such dross was not worth a man’s life. You had the look of a man who fears he has made a vast mistake. I watched you privily when the Port Captain found those lists. You looked mightily relieved. I was only certain when Ariana read those manifests.”

“What will you do, then?”

“I? Nothing. What do you suppose the Port Captain would say? He’d agree that you caught a traitor. I doubt it much he’d find it blameworthy.”

Ariana’s face was white with fury.

“Do you mean to say, Cadfael, that he’s to get away with it? I can’t believe it!”

Cadfael stretched out his hands and took both hers in his.

“I’m sorry, Ariana. But know you that I speak the truth. The Emperor would never condemn Nicodemus for ridding the world of an enemy. I might despise a man who would stoop to murder but it is not my place in life to judge others. However, set your mind at rest about Alexandros. I believe he never left the Island.”

“What do you mean? Do you know where he is?”

“I think he may be at your Grandmother’s house in the south. Yes, I know you sought him there but he kept himself concealed from you, not wanting to place you in any danger.”

“Since when have you thought this?”

“Since we read Tyros’s testament. ‘A new arrival in the port?’ That was Nicodemus. Tyros made a mistake. He thought Nicodemus was of their faction. He paid for that with his life.”

“But what of the men who came by night? Who were they, Bohemond’s men?”

“At first I thought so. But your father’s token was still hidden in the house. I think they saw the murder and knew that Alexandros would be blamed. He could not believe his friend Nicodemus was the killer; that was the argument you heard. We know he couldn’t have sailed to St Simeon. The ‘Star of Libya’ was impounded and Nicodemus wouldn’t take him. It stands to reason, then, he never left. And men in trouble oft run to their mothers. We’ll find him there, or near about.”

Cadfael turned to Nicodemus. His hard eyes made the older man look down, abashed.

“Here is my price, Nicodemus. You forget Alexandros’s part in this. It would serve no purpose now. Demetrius has the names. Bohemond will find no friends within the Empire when he makes his attempt. In exchange, I’ll hold my peace but look you here! I never wish to see you more in this port or another. Go back to Varna. I’m sure you will be well rewarded for your part. Do you agree?”

Nicodemus turned his mouth down and wept with bitterness. He controlled himself at length.

“It shall be as you say, Cadfael. I am old enough to quit the life. I have no regrets save one. Today I lost a friend.”

They parted then. Nicodemus walked alone back down the hill. Cadfael and Ariana watched him go. They were both still deeply shocked by all that had happened. Impulsively Ariana turned to Cadfael and flung her arms around his neck. Their faces were almost of a level. She kissed him full on the lips. He blinked, startled.

“Oh, I don’t know how I can ever thank you, Cadfael.”

He smiled at her. “I believe you promised me swimming lessons. I think it had better be somewhere secluded where none can witness my feeble prowess. Somewhere like St Anthony’s Bay?”

July 1108

Ariana raised herself upon one elbow and gazed down at Cadfael as he lay sprawled upon the beach. She gently kissed his forehead and he smiled up her and reached out to cup her breast in one hand. Her breath hissed in her throat as he stroked her nipple to hardness. With a fluid motion she straddled his chest. He felt the warm moistness of her against his bare chest and eased her gently up. She cried out as his tongue found her and he buried his face in the softly curling hair. He revelled in the sense of her, the taste, the scent, the soft folds gracing his lips. He felt the sun warm on his body and was filled with the joy of the moment.

She gasped and stifled a giggle before easing herself backwards and lowering her breasts to his eager mouth. He felt the sweet heat enfolding him and he moaned on her to nipple. She moved her hips slowly; languorously drawing him deeper inside her and they kissed. They began a gentle rhythm.

“You know, my love, I believe I could take to this sort of swimming. It likes me better than the other.”

“Save your breath, man, it’s about to get rough!”

She was as good as her word.

Afterwards they lay together quietly. Her fingers traced patterns in the coarse mat of hair on his chest.

“So Bohemond failed at the last, then?”

“That he did, my love. The Emperor knew his every move in advance. He has now sworn vassalage and holds Antioch only by the Emperor’s grace.”

“That must have burned with him.”

“They say he took it with calm dignity. He may be an arrogant bastard but he was ever the knight. Once sworn, he’ll never break his word unless the Emperor gives him cause.”

“And Nicodemus, did he fulfil his promise?”

“Aye. He lives in Varna now although word has he’s not long for this world. He has some malady for which there is no cure.”

“I cannot pretend to sorrow on his account. How long before you sail again?”

“Sadly, my love, I must away the dawn after tomorrow. Wine to Syracuse.”

“Hmm, five weeks then. I think I can last that long. Time for another lesson?”

Two naked figures splashed into the sea. One was lithe and arrow-slim, the other short and stocky with heavily-muscled shoulders. One swam with natural grace, slicing through the water with scarcely a ripple. The other thrashed and splashed, making heavy weather of it in her wake.

The End