μζ′

Well, Priam got his son back.

Odysseus dropped by today to tell me that we should prepare for another Trojan attack.

I asked him if it was regarding Hector's body. He nodded.

I guess that Priam payed Achilles a visit late last night. However, this time Priam came alone, disguised as a beggar.

Odysseus said no one would have known about it if Achilles hadn't told him himself.

Anyway, it seems Agamemnon couldn't really "wash his hands" of the whole ordeal. -This morning, Agamemnon asked Odysseus if he would speak to Achilles about returning Hector.

When Odysseus asked Achilles about it, he said that he already did.

Apparently, the King of Troy was really desperate to get his son back, and after the lack of a funeral parade, he came to Achilles himself.

As Achilles related to Odysseus: "I was going to keep those bones for posterity, but when the King of Troy showed up dressed as a laundry wench, I thought, what the hell? So, I gave them to him. -The old bastard almost had a heart-attack when I tossed him his son in a sack!"

Even Odysseus seemed a little disturbed by Achilles' cruelty.

Anyway, the General asked about our men, and whether I thought they were ready to fight again.

I told him that I would run some drills, and check with Macar to see they were amply supplied.

Elpenor came in while I was talking to Odysseus. -Once again, he was struck dumb in the presence of the General.

Odysseus asked how the Horse was shaping up, and Elpenor said something like: Oh, the Horse looks great Sir! But not as great as your goat, Hermes!"

It didn't make any sense, and I immediately felt very awkward.

Odysseus just nodded to Elpenor and excused himself.

As the General walked out, he gave me a look. -I know what that look meant.

Elpenor has done such a great job with the Horse. I just wish he wasn't such a bumbling idiot in front of Odysseus.

I ran a couple of drills today, but the rest of our encampment seemed pretty quiet.

μϛ′

Bad news. -Achilles torched Hector's body.

The hunting crew returned sometime late last night. Apparently, Achilles was pretty pissed when he found Agamemnon had taken his trophy.

Some Magnesians told Achilles what had happened, and upon hearing this, our Champion decided that Priam was not going to get his funeral parade.

Not long before dawn, Achilles and a group of his Magnesian buddies stole Hector back from Agamemnon's camp.

Then, in somewhat of an ironic gesture of respect, Achilles burned Hector in a funeral pyre down by the beach.

This morning, I awoke to shouts that Agamemnon and Achilles were about to have a duel.

It didn't turn out to be true, but it wasn't far off.

When Agamemnon found that Hector had been stolen, he immediately suspected the Trojans. He even went so far as to suit up in his armor, and called for an envoy to be assembled.

As a handful of generals were readying with the Commander-in-Chief, Agamemnon got word that Achilles was burning Hector down by the shore.

Agamemnon and his generals rode to the beach like they were headed into battle. -However, it was too late. By the time they arrived, Hector had been reduced to a pile of ash and bones.

The Commander-in-Chief flipped.

When I got to the scene, Agamemnon was swinging a charred femur, screaming at Achilles at the top of his lungs: "What is this?! What the fuck am I going to do now?! Am I supposed to send Priam his son in a box?!"

"It was a hero's burial, Commander." Achilles responded calmly.

Agamemnon was furious: "A hero's burial?! You torched him in spite, Achilles! I let you stick him on a pole! I let you have your fun! But this?! Why did you have to do this?!”

Agamemnon pointed the leg-bone at Achilles: “You are going to bring a grave wrath upon us, Son of Peleus…"

"Couldn't you just let Calchas kick them around, Commander?" Achilles quipped.

"You sonofabitch!" Agamemnon shouted, tossing Hector's femur at Achilles.

Agamemnon then drew his sword. -Everyone gasped.

Nestor spoke up: "King Agamemnon, let us not forget ourselves. We are Achaeans. We are all Achaeans here."

At that, the Commander-in-Chief paused. He slowly sheathed his sword. -Achilles smiled.

It was quiet for a moment.

Agamemnon then spoke: "Achilles, you are the greatest warrior to walk this world since time remembered. However, your skill is matched only by your pride. You have brought us great victories, Achilles. Perhaps it is fitting that you should bring us great misfortunes as well. This is your doing, Son of Peleus. I wash my hands of this."

And with that, Agamemnon climbed onto his horse and rode back to his camp.

I didn't hear anything else of it today.

The sun set about an hour ago.

I have to imagine things are getting pretty tense inside the walls of Troy right about now.

με′

Priam visited us today.

He rode up with about ten Trojan generals, carrying a flag of truce. -Paris wasn't there.

It seems they were first headed towards Agamemnon's camp, but after catching sight of Hector on a pole, they rode over to the Magnesian camp instead.

Since my tent is close to Achilles' trophy, I was able to meet with the Trojan envoy when they arrived.

Priam was hysterical.

One of our generals named Machaon had the privilege of greeting them first.

Machaon attempted some sort of formal greeting. However, upon dismounting, Priam walked up to Machaon, grabbed him by the neck, and flung him to the ground.

Priam then looked up to his bloated son and started screaming: "Where is that sonofabitch Achilles?! Mother of Zeus, I'll have his eyes! Where is that bastard Achilles?!"

Although hundreds of Achaean soldiers had gathered around, not one would come within twenty meters of the Trojans. Even Machaon scurried away when he got to his feet.

As for the Trojan generals, I don't think they knew what to do either. Priam was the only one who dismounted. No doubt, the Trojans didn't want to start trouble. However, their king was on the ground crying...

It was Glaukos who spoke first: "You sick fuckers! How could you fuckers be so sick!? You put Hector on a fucking pole? What is this shit?!"

During Glaukos’ tirade, Agamemnon, Nestor and Ajax rode up.

Upon seeing their horses enter the circle, Glaukos yelled: "Who the fuck are...?" But, realizing it was Agamemnon, he cut himself short.

Seeing our Commander-in-Chief, Priam shouted once again: "Where is he Agamemnon?! Where is that bastard Achilles?! How could he do this?! How could you let him do this?!"

Without saying a word, Agamemnon climbed down from his horse, walked up, and embraced Priam. Strangely, Priam did not resist. -He just sobbed.

I then heard a sniffle from Nestor. -For some reason he was getting choked up too.

Anyway, in a very gentle tone, Agamemnon explained to Priam that Achilles was not present because he had gone hunting.

Agamemnon did order our men to take Hector down, however.

Hector had been raised up somewhat like a flag. When the rope attached to him was untied, he dropped quickly, making somewhat of a squishy thud. -Hector had ballooned to nearly twice his size.

Standing over the bloated body of Hector, Agamemnon announced that Priam’s son would be returned tomorrow, in a grand funeral procession fit to restore his honor.

At first, Priam wanted to take Hector immediately. However, Agamemnon said Hector deserved to be returned respectfully, and that preparing such a ceremony would take some time.

No doubt, Agamemnon really needed to wait for Achilles. Priam probably suspected this. However, I think the King of Troy realized he was in no position to bargain and soon he acquiesced.

Agamemnon and Priam shook hands, and Agamemnon swore that Hector would be brought back to Troy before the sun set tomorrow.

Priam thanked Agamemnon for his kindness. He then kneeled and kissed the puffy forehead of his dead son.

The Trojans left in silence.

Agamemnon ordered some unlucky men to carry Hector to his camp.

I heard a wheeze of gas come from Hector as these guys lifted him up. -One of the bearers vomited.

The rest of the day was uneventful.

I don’t think Achilles and the hunting crew have come back yet.

μδ′

We went sailing today. It was really nice.

Macar and Baius took us out just after breakfast. There was a cool, steady breeze across the water this morning, and the Lil' Tethys really cut through the waves.

Standing at the bow, I don't think Macar could have look more pleased. -I've never seen him with such a genuine smile.

Polites brought some bread and wine along, and we stopped off at one of the small rock islands for lunch.

While we were there, a Minyan ship sailed in. We threw some rocks and pissed them off. -It was a good time.

Hector's body is still hanging about. He's looking pretty nasty.

Some dogs were pulling on his foot yesterday, so they elevated him quite a bit. Now you can see him from most anywhere in the camp.

When Hector was first put up, he looked pretty ragged, like some old clothes or something. Now his skin is kind of shiny, and his belly is getting big.

I really wish they would take him down.

Odysseus came by and asked if I wanted to go hunting tomorrow. I guess Diomedes' pal Sthenelus has some dogs, and they want to take them out. He said that Achilles might be there.

I had to decline.

My ass was good enough for sailing. However, I don't think I am ready for a day on horseback just yet. Besides, Sthenelus is kind of a prick, and I hate the way Odysseus gets when he is around people like him.

I suppose it was a nice gesture, nonetheless.

Anyway, although he walked right by it, Odysseus didn't say anything about Hector's rotting corpse.

It kind of bothers me that we are hanging Priam's son on a pole just to make Achilles happy.