The oars drove hard, bending, driving the ship forward. The oarsmen chanted their rowing cadence, incited by a coxswain who walked among them. With each stroke, the sea turned lighter blue. On command, oars extracted, and all onboard braced while the hull drove deep into the beach sand. The oarsmen pushed the handles upward and drove the paddles into the sand, keeping the ship from tipping.
King Minos was back at Knossos.
No time wasted, the Keiftu on board and on shore got busy as there was much work to be done in and around the ship before the return of high tide.
The King stood tall at the bow, looking at the ruins of the houses that lined the harbor. It is worse than I imagined. He turned around and faced Daedalus who was behind him.
"Come. Make sure your sons bring the dogs."
A group of Keiftu led by Nashuja, who carried Rhadamanthus newborn, greeted him. "King Minos. The Gods bless us with your safe return." She and her company scanned the ship's crew. "Where is Rhadamanthus and Sarpedon?"
"Atropos cut their thread."
Nashuja's eyes widened while the Keiftu surrounding them rumbled amongst themselves.
The King briefly explained the events near Avaris. "Rhadamanthus could not bear witness Sarpedon's death, and he jumped to the river in shear madness."
He would never do that! Nashuja handed the child to another woman as her eyes glistened. "Where are their bodies?"
"They were not recovered," Minos answered.
The crowd chattered amongst themselves. Some concerned, while others were in disbelief.
"May the Gods keep them well. Surely, they wonder through the Elysian Fields," one man proclaimed.
"May I be excused my King?" Nashuja asked in a trembling voice.
"Of course." King Minos began his walk towards Knossos palace while the news of his brothers' death sped past him.
Life came to a standstill as the Keiftu watched their King lead a procession up the main street. Sadness filled the air while uncertainty augmented the hunger of the Keiftu. The ones standing throughout the King's route discussed within themselves, wondering about the events they hadn't seen. They pointed at him, some looking over their shoulders, others sobbing on their knees.
King Minos fell into a somber trance, looking at a city he didn't recognized anymore. A lot of the destruction was cleared from the thoroughfares. Some tents rose from where houses used to stand. Animals were corralled and the dead were buried. "Daedalus," he called.
The Athenian rushed to his side.
"There is far more work to be done than I anticipated, but I must first tend to my people."
#
The palace, built with heavier stones, mostly survived. Some walls and terraces crumbled to the ground. The storage chambers, holding a large portion of the Island's goods remained intact.
While in the throne room, King Minos was soon visited by his council.
"We are doing well with supplies, but we've rationed them," a councilwoman named Simura told him. She was the keeper of health and culture.
"Why? If we have food and water, there is no need for my people to be hungry."
"We are uncertain about our supplies, my King. The harvest is beginning to rot in the fields as everyone is cleaning and recovering. It took us a few days just to find all the dead. Few livestock are being slaughtered as people lost their wealth and can't buy meat."
"Nonsense! Do not concern yourselves about the lack of coin. Our chambers are full of grain, and there is still time to harvest what's left. People need food so they can focus on the future. Have the farmers return to their fields, the fishermen back to the sea, and the butchers sharpen their knives."
Simura nodded.
"How is the rest of Khaptirus?"
"Knossos was hit the hardest by the quake my King," a councilman named Rusa answered. "The western side of the island was unscathed."
"What about our fleet?"
"Intact," Siram, manager of the Keiftu fleet replied. He was a middle aged, who had a receding hairline, which was rare for a Keiftu. Yet his oiled black curls flowed from the sides of his head, over his shoulders. His skin reflected a seafarer's past who now basked in wealth and opulence. His thin waist screamed his Keiftu identity.
King Minos took a deep breath of relief. "Where is Laksmi?"
"My King." Laksmi was the woman who his brothers and King Kabeiro before them relied upon in matters of the coin. One of the eldest in the King's Council, she was as revered as the highest priestesses. She wore a richly colored flounced skirt with an open dress top which exposed her breasts. Her long, and wavy gray hair undulated down past her slim waist.
"I need to speak with Laksmi and Siram in private," the King told his council. "Please excuse us."
They acknowledged the request and orderly left the balcony leaving them alone.
"I've brought wealth from Egypt. It's more than you can imagine," King Minos told Laksmi. "It was unloaded at Gavdos."
"Why there and not here?" She asked.
"Can you think of any safer place right now?"
"He is right," Siram acknowledged. "That small, southern island might be safer than any place in Khaptirus right now."
"Prepare a dozen ships with skeleton crews," the King instructed Siram. "Load them with cows, about twenty of them."
"Cows my King?" Siram raised his eyebrows.
"We still have cows, don't we?"
"Yes, my King."
"Laksmi, you and Siram will take a separate ship that will take you and lead the rest of the ships to Gavdos. Their purpose will be to go to foreign ports and hire as many workers as can be loaded onto each ship. This is important. When you two disembark, you will see a giant beetle."
Laksmi and Siram exchanged their puzzlement.
"Should be about the size of a dog but don't worry, it won't hurt you. The beetle will take you to the treasure. You will see more beetles there. Laksmi will prepare twelve chests of silver and gold. Enough to pay the workers to board each ship. You will also bring back to Knossos at least five chests for our needs.
"Siram, once the chests are ready, each ship will be beached, and ramps will be brought out. At that point every crewmember must remain below deck. The beetles will do the rest."
"How will the crew know when to set sail?" Siram asked.
"When everything is silent above deck."
"Will they eat the cows?" Laksmi asked.
Minos sighed. "The cows will be fine. There is one more thing. I've reached an accord with Egypt. Siram, you will use half of the entire Keiftu fleet to set supply routes for Egypt. Every kingdom, from Mycenae to Troy, Thrace and beyond the Ionian Sea will see Keiftu ships. We will pay for the goods and take them to Naukratis, the Egyptian port of entry."
"But my King, Naukratis has long been abandoned," Siram said.
"Not for long." He turned his attention to Laksmi. "We will be receiving periodic payments from Egypt. You might want to consider relocating to Gavdos."
"Relocating?"
"You are the one I trust the most on this matter. Whatever you might need or want shall be provided. Think about it."
Alone between giant beetles and cows? No. "Perhaps some of the time. Not permanently."
"Some of the time for now, then. Thank you both," Minos said and exchanged farewells with them.
As Laksmi and Siram left the throne balcony, a familiar face entered, Kekiru.
Minos scoffed. "You're here."
"You've grown up! You should shave. That facial hair dusting you've got going makes you look dirty. Primitive."
"I see you haven't changed."
"Oh, but I have! I'm a family man now."
"Is that so?" Minos turned towards a table and served himself a cup of water.
"Got a son and my wife is with another child."
"You've been busy."
"You did take long to return. What was I supposed to do, sit and wait? But now you're back and so am I."
"Wonderful," Minos said sarcastically. "Come to think about it, there is something I want you to do for me. I want you to take care of a couple of dogs for me. There are also three Athenians you must meet."
"Two dogs and three Athenians? You're just full of surprises, aren't you?"
"Do you want to go back to cleaning shit holes?"
"Dogs and Athenians sound wonderful."