In his room, Helenus was trying to take long, steady breaths.
The council was about to start.
Two years before, just after Marwili's arrival in Buthrotum, the king had asked Helenus to become one of his advisors. He had accepted, of course: as an advisor to the king, he would be more likely to seize the throne if Neoptolemus died.
But he really hated it.
There were those councils where the king asked for his opinion, the other advisors asked questions and argued, some of them tried to mock him from time to time. Whenever he wanted to make a statement, he had to prepare it in advance because he wasn't able to speak off the cuff. He had to think about how his words would be welcomed, about every possible objection, about possible replies. And even so, every time he spoke during a council, he feared that everybody would start laughing in his face.
The Achaeans were usually quite argumentative with each other and with him. They appreciated a good speech but they also became provocative and even openly insulting when they disagreed. Helenus tried very hard not to take the insults personally, he kept repeating to himself that they were just a rhetorical device. Still, mean words hurt him, and he was exhausted after every council.
Besides, he was the only stranger in the council, he really had to watch his mouth. If he said the wrong thing, he would look like a foreigner insulting the Achaeans.
It was so stressful.
With a sigh, he stood and walked to the megaron. He didn't want to be late.
Eudorus, the king and two village elders had already taken place. Shortly, the other advisors arrived as well. There were Mantes, who had replaced Leocritus as the head of the army, his second Isodemos and other two warriors, and then two local notables, Diagoras and Podargos.
"Esteemed advisors, may the gods protect you" began Neoptolemus as soon as they were all there. "I called this council to hear your thoughts. It has been suggested that I should make contact, start a friendly exchange, with our close neighbors, the Illyrians and the inhabitants of Corcyra. You are wise men: speak your mind!"
As a matter of fact, it had been suggested by Helenus. But the king had chosen not to reveal this.
Mantes stood.
"And why, my king? Those people cannot compare with us, what good would it do to make contact with them? One can barely call them men, they live without houses, like animals. We could -and should- seize their lands instead".
"Hear, hear!" said Isodemos, close to him.
Helenus wasn't surprised. This was a predictable objection.
"I think that you should make contact with those peoples" said Helenus slowly. "They don't live in houses like we do, but I would not say that they live like animals. When Achilles first settled down here, almost thirty years ago, he found the Chaonians, who didn't live in houses either. Yet, he made contact with them, and now many inhabitants of Buthrotum are partly or fully Chaonian"
Including Ismenos, the two village elders and one of the warriors, thought Helenus, forcing himself not to say it.
Mantes looked baffled. If he said the wrong thing, he risked offending several people in the room, including two of his warriors.
"I am not sure that making contact with them will be profitable for us, but it is worth a try" Helenus went on. "The kingdom has several enemies in the east. We should try and have a good relationship with our neighbors, strange as they may seem to us. These are dreadful times: our city is a small one and I, of all people, don't need to tell you that even much larger cities are in danger".
He had remembered to say our city instead of this city, as he had initially planned.
"I agree" said Eudorus, standing. "We must remember that we are alone now, not an army of kings like we were when Achilles and Agamemnon were still alive. We don't rule land and sea as we used to do. If we befriend our neighbors and coax them into joining us, we can become stronger. There's a reason if Achilles settled here and didn't stay close to the other Achaean kings"
Helenus silently agreed. It was true, the Achaeans didn't rule land and sea anymore, but he couldn't say such a thing to them. He was glad that Eudorus had.
"I am surprised to hear your words, Eudorus!" yelled Mantes. "I am surprised that you agree with our guest! As anybody could tell, he is not a warrior,, nor could he be one, but you are! Do you think we are so weak that we cannot seize Corcyra or the Illyrians' land?"
Helenus looked coldly at him. On every council, Mantes did his best to remind everybody that he was a guest. The fact that he wasn't a warrior and couldn't be one was another kind of comment he had to hear all the time.
And it never stopped hurting.
It was just a rhetorical device. He didn't have to take it personally. Mantes was just trying to prevail.
"I am sure that we would defeat them!" exclaimed Eudorus. "But why should we waste men and weapons when we can reach the same goal without fighting. Let's spare our warriors for some more powerful enemies".
"I agree, too" said one of the village elders. "I remember the time when Achilles arrived here. At first we couldn't understand him, but now we wouldn't go back to living like we did before his arrival. It could be the same for the Illyrians and Corcyrians. And Eudorus is right, we have other enemies to worry about"
"Maybe we will make peace with them, too" said Mantes sarcastically. "As you will remember, our guest has suggested that prince Molossus should marry Podalirius' daughter"
"That would be even better" cut in Diagoras, one of the city's notables. "That is how we make new allies, with marriages"
"I called you here to discuss another matter. We will discuss my son's marriage another time" the king interrupted bluntly. "As for this matter, after listening to those who have spoken, I have made up my mind. I will make contact with those peoples' chieftains. Now you are free to go".
Mantes looked like he wanted to reply but he didn't dare. He stood and left silently.
Another council was over, now he would have some peace for a while, thought Helenus, going back to his room.
He was glad that Eudorus had supported him, the king probably wouldn't have decided in his favor otherwise.
"We have done a good job!" called Eudorus' voice from behind his back.
Helenus turned to look at him. What did he want now?
"We?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.
"Yes. You started, and then I said the things that you certainly think but cannot say. That we don't rule land and sea anymore, that our old warrior culture is not up with the times anymore, and so on" explained the Achaean with a small smile.
"If you say so" replied Helenus warily. Eudorus seemed to have read his mind.
"Yes, I say so, even if it pains me. I preferred the times when we were an army of kings. But now we aren't: we have to deal with it. Mantes, Isodemos... they are warriors: if you suggest that a problem can be solved without fighting, they feel threatened. You are the opposite: since you are not a warrior, you try to solve problems without fighting. It's probably the best approach in a kingdom which is not very powerful"
Helenus was taken aback. Why was Eudorus telling him this? He could never understand whether he could trust the Achaean or not, whether Eudorus was sincere or just flattering him. What should he say now? He didn't want to say things that might sound disrespectful towards the warriors, this would be a very bad idea among the Achaeans.
"The warriors have no reason to feel threatened. Not every problem can be solved without fighting, I am only hopeful about this one" he replied prudently.
"We might want to let them know that. I bet they're not happy with the two of us right now. And I bet..." Eudorus went on, lowering his voice to a whisper "I bet they think we have planned this together. We both sounded very deliberate. I carefully prepared what I wanted to say in advance... and you too".
Helenus felt slightly annoyed. He sensed that Eudorus was going somewhere but he couldn't understand where yet, and he felt manipulated.
"Yes, I'm aware that your words are usually prepared and seldom spontaneous" he answered pointedly.
Eudorus smiled smugly.
"You got me. But I am not here to have an argument, only to give a warning"
Helenus looked at him, trying to mask his discomfort. Did Eudorus know, or imagine, why he had involved himself so much in the city's affairs?
"If the two of us agree too much, the warriors might feel left aside. And it is not a good idea to make them feel that way. So we shouldn't show that we like each other"
"I wasn't aware that we liked each other" answered Helenus with a shrug.
Eudorus smiled again.
"Yes, that's the attitude".
Helenus spent the evening pacing in his room, thinking about that conversation.
Did Eudorus really think highly of him, or was he just pretending? After all, the man could lie shamelessly.
The Achaean hadn't just said that Helenus had spoken well, no: he had said that he tried to solve problems without fighting and that this might be the best approach for Buthrotum. It had never occurred to Helenus that not being a warrior might actually help him. But why had Eudorus decided to say this?
Eudorus had warned him that the warriors might feel left aside, and that the two of them shouldn't look too close. But why? After all, he was just an advisor, he wasn't the king.
Finally, Eudorus had insisted that he knew what Helenus was thinking, he knew that Helenus prepared his speeches in advance. Was that his way of saying "I'm watching you"?
O-O-O
"Did you figure it out, eventually? Why Eudorus had told you all of these things?" asked Molossus.
"I had a distinct impression. That Eudorus knew that I was thinking about succeeding Neoptolemus, and didn't find it a particularly bad idea. That would explain everything: his insistence that I should have a good relationship with the warriors, that he thought highly of me, that he was watching me. And my impression was confirmed a year later, when your father died"
Molossus considered the answer silently.
"I didn't know what I was to marry the daughter of the king of Tricca" he said after a while.
"Well, his only daughter died, so it all came to nothing" explained Helenus. "If she had survived, if the two of you had been betrothed, maybe your father wouldn't have died in Tricca"
"So what happened when he died?"