μη′

No Trojan attack today.

I did almost get to see Ajax and Odysseus fight, however.

This morning, Odysseus dropped by again. There was a meeting between a handful of Agamemnon's closest commanders this afternoon, and he wanted me to be there to take notes.

I have to say, I was a bit flattered by Odysseus' invitation, and I happily accepted.

The meeting took place during lunch in Agamemnon's tent. -That was interesting enough. I had never been in Agamemnon's tent before. It isn't so much one tent, as it is a series of tents, all connected to one another.

Even more impressive, The Commander-in-Chief's place was filled with beautiful women. Well, maybe not filled, but there were at least five pretty maids that waited on us. -I think I'd almost forgotten what pretty women looked like.

In addition, as I was the only aide present, I got to sit at the table with all the other commanders.

There were about twenty Generals there. Besides Agamemnon and Odysseus, Ajax, Diomedes, Nestor, Emelus, and Machaon were present. Achilles was there too. He came in a bit late with an Aetolian General name Thoas.

I've never met Thoas before, but I'd heard a lot about him. Thaos is a young guy, and he’s leading one of the largest armies here. -He seemed pretty sharp.

Anyway, I sat between Odysseus and Nestor. Menelaus wasn't there. -No big surprise.

The food was great. However, Nestor doesn't have many teeth, and as he kept talking at me during lunch, half of his food ended up on my shoulder. -That kind of killed my appetite.

Besides that, when Nestor saw I had papers and ink, he started drawing all these maps and diagrams of the stuff he was babbling about. -He left me with almost no room for my notes.

After we had eaten, Agamemnon started things off by saying that the Trojans were preparing an attack. He said we had a new spy in Troy, and that this guy had told us that Priam was awfully pissed about what happened to Hector. (Some spy!)

Apparently, the King of Troy is planning a grand battle to finally settle this thing.

At that point, Achilles spoke up: "Well, let them bring it! Let's do it! Mother of Zeus, I'm sick of this beachhead!"

At that, Agamemnon frowned.

Odysseus then spoke: "Achilles, I admire your bravery, but don't forget, we are building the Horse..."

Ajax then interrupted: "Oh, fuck the Horse, Odysseus! Do you really think the Trojans are going to fall for that?!"

Odysseus sprang to his feet. So did Ajax. But, Agamemnon intervened.

Agamemnon waved the two to be seated and said: "Alright, let's be calm. We have no time for such talk.”

Agamemnon then looked at Achilles and said: “We know Priam comes for vengeance. He will come soon, and it will not serve us to be divided.”

Ajax then apologized to Agamemnon. However as he did so, he eyed Odysseus coldly.

The Commander-in-Chief then continued to explain what little information this new spy had given us, and how we might best plan for the oncoming attack.

Some of the generals asked technical questions. Thoas suggested we hide a calvary regiment behind the hills on our western flank. -Agamemnon agreed.

Still, it was more of an announcement than a strategic meeting. -The other generals weren't especially talkative after the outburst between Ajax and Odysseus.

After the luncheon was adjourned, I walked with Odysseus back to his tent.

I asked the General what he wanted me to do to prepare our men for battle, but he just kept asking me questions about the Horse.

Among other things, Odysseus asked me if I thought the Horse was too tall, whether I thought it looked too much like a Horse, if I thought the Trojans knew we were building it, and whether I thought that it would hold enough people.

I could tell he was upset by Ajax’s criticism. Perhaps Odysseus was also anxious because Agamemnon hadn’t gone so far as to actually defend the project. -Maybe the Commander-in-Chief has his doubts as well.

Anyway, I received no advice concerning the upcoming battle.

When I asked when he was going to inspect the men tomorrow, Odysseus looked confused and said: “Why? I am sure they look just fine, Eurylochus.”

I then reminded Odysseus that Agamemnon warned us the Trojans could come as early as tomorrow night.

He then nodded and said: “Oh, yes, yes. Sure, I’ll have a look at them, right after breakfast.”

As I turned to leave, the General stopped me: “Hey Eurylochus, could you send that Lieutenant Epeius over to my tent?”

I nodded and left.

I then went to tell Epeius that Odysseus wanted to discuss the Horse with him.

Elpenor was not pleased.