Magna Graecia: Titanomachia (A City State Quest)

The path to agreement on the issues of Sicily and the Liburnian expedition was fraught. At one point, there was widespread chaos in the assembly as the proboulos called a halt to the voting. It had been done on slates of stone, with individual choices marked by brushes of paint, with citizens rushing to one slate or another. The slate of Phokion Aristeides began to pick up much steam, with their proposals favored by the assembly, but then the proboulos declared that the slate method had been invalid due to an improper procedure with the painting of the rocks. This caused much consternation. Some accused the proboulos of attempting to sabotage Phokion's slate, while others complained that this put the entire vote in confusion. At last, the subject was put before Zeus, and a divination was prepared. Meat was burnt and huffed by the oracle, who then spoke with the voice of Zeus and said to the people that the slate should be shattered into many small stones and given out to the people, for a city is made out of many small stones, not one large one. The citizens who had argued for the slate were acknowledged as being wise, but so were the citizens who had argued against a slate, and then in the end it was settled in favor of those who had argued against the slate. In the end, the choices made were much the same as those of Phokion's slate.

Obander left to the northern Adriatic to secure the support of the Enetoi and Histri. Linos was appointed as strategos. A message was sent to the Athenians and Sikeliotes that the Xenoparakletor would soon arrive in their midst and that their strategy at the conference should be to push for an attack against the Sicels. The idea appealed well to Gorgias of Leontini, due to the wide border the Sikeliotes held with the Sicels, and the wealthy lands they held. Indeed, the Sikeliotes had already founded the new town of Adranon in the western foothills of Mount Aetna as the edge of their new frontier. The stage would be set for a great diplomatic wrangle, and the young Alkibiades, already departed to Selinous, would ensure there were surprises in store for Syrakousai's strategy at the conference.

But now, it was first time to go to the north.


At the Adriatic's Pinnacle

Hellenes had been sailing the Adriatic for centuries. The first to arrive after legendary heroes like Diomedes who is said to have settled among the Dauni were the Korinthians, who sailed across the Adriatic from their Isthmian port, exploring further and further. But the top of the Adriatic had long been a far territory. The Etruscan town of Atria had a mixed population of Hellenes and Etruscans, and this had traditionally been considered the terminus for the Adriatic trade. To the southeast were the treacherous islands of Liburnia, while to the north were the winding and sleepy lagoons of the Enetoi. The arrival of Eretria, however, changed this picture. The northern coast became far more important as a trading route, with the Eretrians trading directly with the Enetoi and Histri, with goods like metal objects, silver, and lumber all being important exports. The Enetoi, first as a salt route and then as general trading partners, began to build wealth in their riverine settlements. Organized governments emerged, led by what was called a xenologos in Hellene by the Eretrians, but had some special unknown term in the native tongue. Seafarers and merchants, the Enetoi and Histri were still a warlike people, but were increasingly also a wealthy one, with growing prosperity and interest in Hellene manufactured goods, not just olive oil.

The urbanization had now become intense enough that the town of Patava was becoming a true city, and displayed its wealth in terms of a number of horse statues in stone which greeted riverine visitors to the town. With Mnmenon in tow, who Obander had developed a friendship with during their days at sea, the two came to the city, with the distinct crest of the Eretrian Sun & Tree displayed upon the sails. The initial greeting was somewhat awkward (5d4+2=13) as Mnemnon and Obander could only speak to merchants who knew Greek, but the merchants were confused about who they were and misinterpreted them to be merchants rather than emissaries. Still, after this initial ordeal, Obander was able to find a merchant with enough of a command of the language, and who had been to Eretria several times, that they understood (5d4+2=16), and now endeavored to take them to the xenologos, as it was translated, who had been elected chief of the entire group of larger Enetoi towns. The xenologos Poskipon greeted Obander and Mnemnon warmly and took them on a tour of the city. The country, he explained, was now united by a sacred league, and took as its patron god Nehtuns, identified clearly by his trident and dominion over water as Poseidon.

Poskipon was very pleased by the news that Eretria had just completed a temple to Poseidon, though he was not entirely sure of the relation to Demeter and raised an eyebrow when it was explained by Mnemnon, in his excitement, that the Enetian lagoon was actually created by Demeter and Poseidon. Poskipon insisted that the lagoon had actually been Nehtuns flooding the region to defeat an ancient sea monster, though Obander became confused as to why a sea monster would be troubled by a flood of water, but then Poskipon laughed and said he had meant a sperm monster, and when Obander became mortified, corrected it again to snake monster, which made far more sense for everyone involved, though did little to stop Mnemnon from laughing hysterically at the crude joke, given as he was to such humor.

In any case, Poskipon promised that the Enetoi would be happy to extend their hand of friendship out to Eretria once more against the Liburni. In the past they had fought together, and there would be much loot in the endeavor. Poskipon said Eretria had a fine reputation among the Iapyges as being a terrible opponent but fine master, and so the Enetoi expected a share of the loot as well as the glory, which Obander said Eretria would be happy to provide despite his own private misgivings about dealing so equally with barbaroi. With limited time, Obander apologized to Poskipon, who said it was all well to the good and they would be sure to meet again in a few years time, and that Eretrian merchants remained welcome in the city as always.

Now the Histri were to be dealt with, but they were a more enigmatic breed. Emerging as a clear tribe only a few decades before, the Histri still had few symbols of organized government, and instead were organized around two meeting places; the fishing town of Tergeste and the ceremonial center and hill-fort of Nesactium, called Nesaction by the Eretrians. Obander first went to Tergeste, where he had a very unfortunate run-in at the port. The people, fearful of pirates and apparently mistaking the Eretrian Tree & Sun sail with the Cartwheel from afar, symbol of many Liburni pirates, began to attack the ship with arrows before it even arrived on shore (2d10+1=6). Mnemnon, enraged at the outrageous audience, rushed up to the bow of their ship and started shouting at the Tergestians, but to no avail. Instead, he was hit by an arrow for his trouble in the upper shoulder, though it was only a small flesh wound and healed soon. Certainly not an appropriate greeting! The shouting had only agitated them more, and soon the decision was made, quite wisely, to continue on to Nesactium.

There was not a much better audience at Nesactium, however (2d10+1=10). The people of Tergeste had shadowed the ship as it landed, and immediately interrogated the crew as they were ashore. With their strange caps and moustaches, the Histri looked little indeed like their Enetoi neighbors, even if their language was similar. At Nesactium, a few of the Greek speakers among the audience upbraided Obander for frightening the people, and then called them horses, which was in fact a mis-translation of trespassers in their native tongue. After much confusion, at last, they were free to go, but empty-handed, as the Histri had been made mistrustful after their initial interaction and said that if they raided the Liburni they would do so of their own initiative.

Undaunted by this frustrating experience, however, Obander spoke to the despondent Mnemnon and told him they would go back to Patava and ask for additional support. Upon hearing of the situation among the Histri, Poskipon merely sighed and said that was just how they were like, and said they could provide extra levies, though not as many as the initial estimate from their combined forces. In the end, however, the Eretrians had at least gained the support of the Enetoi, who were ready and willing to commit their ships to an expedition. Obander was now free to go to Sicily, and he was thankful for the opportunity, as he had grown tired of attempting wordplay in the presence of those who could barely speak Greek. Mnemnon arrived home and transmitted the situation to the assembly, while Eupraxis sailed on to destiny at the Congress of Gela.

Results

• Enetoi have become organized with a sacred league and xenologos, held by the friendly Poskipon.
• 150 allied warriors and 30 Pentekontors promised by the Enetoi.
• Expedition to the Histri fails but not on terrible terms, despite Mnemnon's wounded shoulder.
• Eupraxis departs for Sicily while Mnemnon arrives home in Eretria Eshkata...

On the Isle of Herakles

One might have thought that the city of Gela was built by Herakles. Though it had once been the original city of the tyrant Gelo, and had little connection to Herakles in its founding traditions, as with much of Sicily, a Herakles fervor had gripped it. When Obander arrived, the city had been in the midst of constructing a supposed "life-size" hydra several meters high out of stone. The long period of peace and limited conflict had made much of the island rich, but Gela had been the most to benefit from it culturally; whenever Sicilian cities wished to dedicate something to the entire island, they made a donation to Gela. The Temple of Herakles the Triumphant was truly extraordinary, a collaborative piece which represented the unity of the entire island of Sicily and took up a significant portion of the city's Akropolis. Much of the city was clean, though the grand public buildings contrasted with the squalor of the poorer neighborhoods. As an exchange for this incredibly privileged position, Gela had been neutral for years, a guarantor of the stability on the island. Now, however, things had changed. Some Gelans felt tired of being simply second fiddle to the other cities, and of constantly being the city that was moderate or reasonable. The rise of the Sikeliotes and Syrakousai was overshadowing Gela itself, and the investments put by Gorgias of Leontini into beautifying his own city, one of the centers of the league, was simply outrageous to the Gelans. No city on Sicily should be as glorious as Gela! It was unacceptable.

Gela's drift to Syrakousai was not just aesthetic pettiness, however. Economic reforms in Syrakousai and its recovery from being an unstable home of mercenaries and would-be-tyrants was also influencing the allegiances of many of Gela's elites. Extensive donations by the wealthy of Syrakakousai were funding Gela, and a faction of citizens argued that it was with Syrakousai that their future lay, as the city had made it clear they would take economic and political leadership of the southern cities and protect them from the Sikeliotes. The logic had been that the Sikeliote League, with its claim as a league of all the Sicilians, would endeavor to undermine or annex the city into its territory. Indeed, a league union with Himera had been blocked at a prior congress about a decade before, and the League's complaints that it held two large Sicilian cities (Katane and Leontini) but had only one vote at the Congresses also disquieted the Gelans. At the same time, there were those Gelans who believed the city could still be strong, and yearned for opportunities to prove that the city was an equal power to all the other Sicilian cities, if not even stronger and better for its cultural and religious influence. And, of course, this was mostly an elite preoccupation, with the pro-Syrakousai faction being more pro-democratic and the anti-Syrakousai faction more oligarchic, wishing to restrict the franchise to those worthy of the city.

It was into this political landscape that Obander entered as something of a sensation (5d4+5=16). Eretria was legendary on the isle of Sicily, with Herodion the One-Eye called Herodion the Tyrant-Slayer, or sometimes even Herodion Hektor, for his ability to throw a javelin. His murder of the tyrant Gelo decades ago was still remembered on the island, and although such symbolism could not override political realities it greased the wheels of diplomacy significantly. Eretria, had, after all, chosen to expend considerable efforts in countering Syrakousai. Even if in recent years this commitment had waned significantly, the city still commanded respect among the people as the gateway to the Adriatic and first city of the Italiotes, especially after its victory over Taras.

Obander had come at an excellent time. The pro-Syrakousai faction, represented through the boule and a portion of the assembly, had their dominance tempered by the election of the strategos Skiron Argados. Skiron was a firm believer in the necessity of Gela's status as the cultural center of Sicily and believed that those who promoted alliance with Syrakousai were fools dooming the city to eventual domination and enslavement to a new tyranny. Skiron and Obander rapidly got on famously (5d4+4=17), with Obander making the strategos burst out laughing with his nonsensical analogies that were delivered with such seriousness that they almost made sense. You see, Obander would explain solemnly, the pony does not wait for the stallion, but goes to drink alone. Skiron nodded to that, and then wondered if his opposite was senile, allowing himself to admit things he would not otherwise.

As it turns out, it is sometimes possible for old dogs to learn new tricks, for Obander's trick had become feigning senility. Through this he discovered that the Gelans were already swaying in their support of Syrakousai, and that Hermokrates had promised to donate an enormous number of talents if they stayed the course. At this Obander pointed out to Skiron that the city of Gela was not a city of mercenaries, so easily swayed, instantly raising the hackles of Skiron. How dare Obander compare the city of Herakles to old Gela, garrisoned by cutthroat dogs of tyrants! And yet he saw the point; this would make an extraordinary talking point if raised in the assembly, enough to flip even some of the committed supporters of the opposition. Obander also suggested that from his experience, the people love the aristocrat who concedes his position all the more, for it shows such moral virtue that they reward him with honors. Once again, Skiron fell for the idea of easy glory, and was soon committing to promising an enhanced franchise for his people, and Obander had not even gotten to his proposal about seizing the interior.

That's when Skiron really became excited. And then, as Obander had agreed with Alkibiades, trusting the wild-eyed youth, Obander made one more comment, and the trap was sprung.

Results

• Gela is divided between those who wish to align with Syrakousai and those who prefer a more independent Gela.
• Obander is able to convince their pro-Independence head strategos Skiron to sway the people through an expanded franchise.
• Obander has gained Gela's support for the plan.

Enter Alkibiades

Alkibiades' first order of business as soon as he arrived in Sicily was to enjoy himself in Leontini. In this he succeeded (Alkibiades' Signature Gilded 1d20+5=19), and was able to leave behind (1d20=5) five different broken hearts, composed of an olympic athlete and letter-writer, his wife, his sister, his aunt, and his brother. This whirlwind of romance was sure to be immortalized, except for the fact that Gorgias of Leontini caught wind of it, and fearing for the chastity of his own children sent the Athenian packing, reminding him of his mission. Before he left, Alkibiades met with Obander, and made quite an impression on the old man, though his attempt at seduction (1d20-30=-21) was not successful as Obander absurptly stated that at his age he was attracted only to stone, which planted images in Alkibiades' mind he wished he did not have. With that awkwardness out of the way, Obander advised Alkibiades on his course of action, that he should head to Selinous. Alkibiades agreed.

Alkibiades lied. His first stop was in fact overland, through the Sicel cities, where he met with the chiefs of Herbessos, Herbita, Morgantina, and Henna, and spoke to them on matters that would not become clear until later. From here, he stopped briefly at Akragas, meeting a peddler, and did something which would only become clear until later. And then, finally, he arrived at the destination he was meant to arrive at in the first place, Selinous. He marveled at the syncretism of the city, with its mix of Greek and Carthaginian styles, then immediately and promptly became embroiled with an indebted gambler's dispute with merchants which he adjudicated with his famed wisdom (1d20+5=16) by advising the local merchants of the location of the gambler and his children. Rumors of this golden-haired Adonis spread through the city, and the boule, which had a much more decentralized leadership modeled upon the oligarchic Carthaginian council of elders, met with him. Whatever he said to them impressed them so much that they gave him a gift of a golden wreath and sent him on his way with much buoyancy (1d20+5=24).

Of course, Syrakousai had not been idle either, but they had spectacularly bad luck and the effort of Obander and Alkibiades meant that the Sikeliote League was able to devote its diplomatic resources to block their own moves. Their attempt to win Himera failed utterly with their emissaries chased out of the city by an angry mob shouting they had killed Gelo and they would kill Hermokrates too, (Syrakousai Rolls 2d10=4), and the attempt to flip Rhegion on the basis of its conflict with the Sikeliotes over Messena was similarly doomed (Syrakousai Rolls 2d10=8). Still, Hermokrates was confident that even if Syrakousai could not win the congress, it would still be able to prevent its opponents from winning. The slogan of a Sicily for Sicilians had been given extra currency by the Athenian presence ahead of the congress (Syrakousai Rolls 2d10+4=14). It was still possible to flip the city of Selinous and maintain Gela's support.

Unfortunately, they did not account for Alkibiades.

Results

• Alkibiades has been unleashed on a helpless Sicily.
• He has done something with the Sicels.
• He has done something with Akragas.
• He was apparently successful in Selinous.
• Syrakousai's attempts to flip Himera and Rhegion failed.
• They still have widespread support for their platform of forcing out all non-Sicilian alliances to be severed.
• The Congress is almost here.

All Hades Breaks Loose

The congress gathered delegates from every single city in Sicily and includes representatives from Eretria, Athenai, and at a late juncture, Korinthos, which had sent a single envoy through the Athenian-dominated gulf of Korinthos to observe. However, only the members of the Heptarchy, the prime signatories to the common peace (The Sikeliote League, Gela, Himera, Syrakousai, Akragas, Selinous and Rhegion) could vote. Rhegion was odd in that it was a partly Italiote power, but its control of Messana and its role in the Sicilian War which had brought about the heptarchy entitled it a place. Delegates from each city had been appointed by their democratic or oligarchic governments to represent their home city, and would vote among themselves to decide how to cast their single vote for each resolution. First on the docket was Syrakousai's annexation of some land from the Sikeliotes. A small strip of coastal land on their border near the Sikeliote city of Megara Hyblaea, it would be a strong symbolic victory for Syrakousai. In this case, the resolution passed by one vote, that of Selinous, which despite their peculiar buoyancy as reported by Alkibiades appeared to vote with Syrakousai's bloc. However, this was not a very important vote, and even the Sikeliotes acknowledged the defeat; they had been bested in war and this was their concession. It was an auspicious start to the conference, however. (2d10+4=9). Obander and Alkibiades did not lose heart, especially after Alkibiades said this had been part of the agreement with the Selinuntians, whatever that agreement was.

The next of Syrakousai's resolutions, however, was entitled by Hermokrates, their representative, as Sicily for Sicilians, and was meant to resolve that every outside power be ejected immediately from the conference and outside alliances severed. This would have deeply weakened the power bloc of the Sikeliote League, for they relief on outside support in order to stand up to Syrakousai and its allies in war, and would immediately tip the balance for Syrakousai's bloc. It was at this point that the chaos began, however, for much against the expectation of Hermokrates who had assumed his allies would stand with him, not just Gela and Selinous but Akragas also voted down the resolution (2d10+8=23). Shocked, and put completely off his footing, Hermokrates accused the Agrigentines and Gelans of plotting against Syrakousai, but this acrimony was nothing compared to what happened next.

The delegates of Selinous stood up and announced that they wished to put forward their own resolution. In the resolution, Selinous would become the location of a new sacred treasury for all Sicily, and would host the next congress. This had been agreed with the people of Gela and Akragas. Hermokrates immediately turned to Skriton, leading the Gelan delegation, who stood up, outraged, and asked where the Selinuntians had received such a daft idea. Then the Agrigentines, similarly outraged, said that they had in fact been promised the next congress, and wished to put forward their own resolution, as well as to dedicate additional Sicilian monies to their own temple of Poseidon. And then, just as the three were about to realize that the sole common denominator for these promises and communications was Alkibiades, who had during his time to Akragas and Selinous delivered forged letters from the other cities, having spent his time in Leontini studying the seals and symbols of each city to make such a promise authentic. This had been corroborated, it seemed, by a gambler who pretended to be from Gela, and a peddler from Akragas who was meant to be from Selinous. All of this was now coming to a head here, with an explosion of anger about to be directed at Alkibiades, when all hades broke loose.

The doors opened and an angry delegation of Sicel chiefs came into the room. They demanded to know why they had been invited to a congress that was meant to partition them, and why they had been promised by a fair-haired Hellene that if they came to the congress they would be welcomed as honored guests, only to fight the guards on their way in. At this point, Alkibiades whispered something to Gorgias, who shouted at the top of his lungs:

"The barbaroi have invaded the heart of Sicily!"

Which diverted all attention at once from Alkibiades and sent the congress spinning. The Sicels, unbeknownst to them, had been smuggled into the city by Alkibiades not to plead their case but to serve as a casus belli. Syrakousai, with the momentum of its own position at the congress desperarately derailed, now had to take back leadership. They demanded an immediate punitive sacred war and the subjugation of the Sicels between all the Sicilian powers, in order to make up for this slight. Realizing what they had done, the Sicel chiefs attempted to leave, but instead were apprehended by guards and recommended by Alkibiades to be put to death.

Hermokrates, however, was not willing to let all of these slights lie. Syrakousai's position in Sicily had just imploded in a moment. Its allies of Gela and Akragas, even if Alkibiades' ploy was exposed, had revealed their jealousies of each other in an open congress, and Selinous' had been embarrassed by the other two. Their alliance was rapidly collapsing, and now they had committed to a war that they gained the least from of every single power in Sicily. So the last resolution of the spectacularly disastrous congress of Gela, which would be studied by students of diplomacy and statecraft for decades as an exercise in the power of controlled chaos destroying the best-laid plans, was to exile the Athenian Alkibiades from the Isle of Sicily once and for all. It passed 4-3, with Selinous, Akragas, Gela and Syrakousai for it, and at last the saga of Alkibiades' Sicilian adventure came to an end.

As for Obander, he stayed in Gela for one more day, enjoyed a light lunch, and then sailed back home. Sicily had been secured.

Results

• Syrakousai passes its resolution against the Sikeliotes.
• The resolution to bar all outside alliances fails.
• Alkibiades does his thing.
• Alkibiades does even more things.
• Alkibiades is exiled for these things.
• The Sicels and the Sicilians are now at war.

The Liburnian Campaign: Sailing North

Admiral: Epiktetos Linos
Ships: 18 Triremes (2,700 rowers)
Marines: 500 Hieros Ekdromoi, 200 Psilloi
Allied Forces: 150 Enetoi Warriors, 30 Pentekontors

While this titanic struggle was occurring in Sicily, of course, Eretria was preparing for war. With the Enetoi secured as allies, the city could finally ready itself for an expedition sure to be difficult, under the command of the veteran naval and land commander Epiktetos Linos. Triumphing over his opponent Irenaeos, who was assigned the Ekdromoi while the modest Theron Zosimos, who did not contest the situation, was assigned garrison duty once the southern isles had been secured. Of course, first the Adriatic had to be sailed. It did not start off auspiciously; a storm caught a portion of the fleet on its crossing (1d20=8) and about six ships arrived at Issa later than the rest, with the casualties of ninety rowers and one of the triremes which ran aground and shattered on Issa's southern coast. The disorganization meant that the locals put up a stiff fight, but there was no real question of victor at sea (2d10+10=19) or land (2d10+10=22), where the local Liburnians, outnumbered and divided into their separate islands, could not defend themselves against the Eretrian assault. The lost trireme was mourned at Issa, but it was no matter.

At the northeast corner of the island of Issa, Epiktetos Linos designated a camp to be established that would constitute a safe harbor for the navy of Eretria, while securing the outlying islands. An additional fort was established on an island to the northeast of Issa, called Pharos, (modern Hvar), and which was much more makeshift but could act as a secondary port for raiders to return to for supplies. It was from here that raids were conducted across the coast of the Liburni, with islands raided and villages burned (2d10+4=16). It was a brutish business, made all the worse by Irenaeos' leadership. The admiral reveled in cruelty that could be positively unhellenic, with him even suggesting at one point that a particularly rambunctious local should be nailed to the cross, a distinctly Carthaginian punishment. For all the brutality of their sackings, the Greeks were known not to dismember or defile their enemies, and so this caused discomfort among some. Others gleefully partook, however, and news of the Eretrian atrocities on the outlying islands began to filter back to Iadar along with refugees.

For although the Eretrians had always thought of the Liburni as scum and pirates, the truth was far more complicated. Energetic traders and fishermen, they were excellent shipbuilders of their famed pentekontors and had exercised dominion over the region in the period prior to Eretria's arrival. They were also a prideful people, proud of their skill at sea, and had not appreciated the Eretrian arrival. Some more eruidte Eretrians suggested that the reason Lykurgus had been able to sway so many pentekontors to his side against Eusebios in the battle of the fifty masts which had taken place decades earlier was because they were not pirates but in fact a coalition of Liburni who feared the growth of a Hellene city in the Adriatic of such size and capability. If that was so, they were right to fear, and unfortunate in failing, for since then the hatred of Liburni among the Eretrians had only grown.

Now they faced the full might of the Eretrians, as fishermen ran day and night to evacuate women and children from the outlying islands and deposit them on the mainland. Worse, there was news that the accursed Enetoi were raiding as well, offending the pride of the Liburni who saw themselves as the first seafarers of the Adriatic and disdained the competition. The confederation, made up of the major cities of the mainland and some of the island towns, gathered in Iadar to decide what to do. Kopon, a notorious pirate and veteran captain, argued that they should evacuate all their people from the islands and not face the Eretrians in battle until next March, when they could ambush their fleet and garrison at anchor and retake the southern islands. However, he was faced with a vast opposition, and an omen struck him. As legends would have it, Kopon was arguing at the assembly, situated by the harbor, when a snake came and bit him sharp on the tongue, rendering him speechless (2d10-5=2), and showing his disfavor with the Gods. Kopon would nearly die from these wounds, only surviving, it would seem, to show that the Gods were merciful as well. When news of this tale reached Eretria in later years, it was attributed to the God Poseidon, who had protected Eretria by silencing Kopon.

In any case, the decision was made among the Liburni, for their pride and honor, to gather a truly vast force of pentekontors and to face Linos. Linos had not expected such a force, but thanks to reports from Enetoi pentekontors who had been scouting the islands (2d10+4=17), Linos was able to discover the preparations and the gathering of a massive force. Cancelling his own raiding parties, Linos was readying to sail out and attack the Liburni when they, against his expectations, instead sailed south immediately aiming for the fort of Pharos where the raiding parties had been based from. With seventeen triremes he had to face eighty, with as many as 6,000 sailors, marines, and archers. But Linos' composure did not break.

After all, Eusebios had faced fifty with three.

Results

• Eretrian loss of 90 rowers and 1 trireme during crossing due to a storm
• 9 Psilloi killed during island raids, 4 Ekdromoi killed
• 15 Enetoi killed, 2 Pentekontors lost
• Southern Islands secured, bases constructed at Issa and Pharos
• Liburni decide to go on the attack and engage Eretrian forces

The Liburnian Expedition: Battle of Pharos

Admiral: Epiktetos Linos
Ships: 17 Triremes (2,610 rowers)
Marines: 496 Hieros Ekdromoi, 191 Psilloi
Allied Forces: 135 Enetoi Warriors, 28 Pentekontors

The Liburni pentekontors, despite their light construction, were imbued with the most wonderful craftsmanship. Sails painted by wives, daughters, prows and rams painted by fathers and sons, oars carved from the fine interior forests of Illyria. The men who crewed these ships were men of the sea, immensely proud, and happy that unlike their Hellene counterparts who used three banks of oars and an enclosed top, they were all equal. Whereas the Hellenes stratified their men, with captains on top and oarsmen below, among the Liburni every man rowed, from the richest to the poorest, and those who did not sat next to those who did on the deck, commanding beside, not from atop. The fleet that departed from Iadar was an extraordinary one, the fruit of Liburnia, young men with passion and rage in their hearts for the women and the children the Eretrians had killed and the cruelties that had been visited on them. Many of them were pirates, but also farmers, fishermen, fathers and brothers, singers and dancers. They were men, human, not scum, and they fought for their homeland.

They would drown for it, too.

For in all of their pride and their excitement and their energy, they failed not to gather that the Eretrian Eusebios that had caused them so much grief was nothing compared to the navy before them. Assembled were rowers who had spent decades sailing Illyria, raiding, reaving, who it was sometimes joked made the most consistent lovers because you could always count on them to row for hours in bed as well as boat. Most important, they were heirs to a naval tradition that was without fear, second only to Athenai's in its belief in its own ability that bordered on hubris. Even the designs of their ships confirmed this fact. Fast and manueverable, the Eretrian trireme gave up even more weight in favor of increased manueverability. Athenian observers sometimes compred them to hawks, fast-turning and vicious where the Athenian triremes were eagles, larger and slower but more powerful. So committed were the Eretrians to the art of ramming that they reduced the number of marines per ship, too, confident that their rams would be enough.

And against Pentekontors, Eretrian rams would shred hulls and oars in equal measure.

The Liburni, under Soson, rival of Kopon, soon approached Linos, but he simply waited for them in Pharos harbor. He was eager to see what they would do. Kopon, again, advised caution from his pentekontor, telling Soson that to approach a harbor like Pharos would be dangerous. The harbor was a funnel, growing narrower until a tip in the east end, where the Eretrians had drawn their Triremes up in a line. If they pressed into the narrow space, the Eretrians would have plenty of opportunity. Soson agreed, and instead tried to make camp at the top end of the harbor to bottle the Eretrians in and potentially force a pitched battle, but Linos was no fool. Irenaeos and his ekdromoi had been lying in wait, and as soon as the Liburnians landed Irenaeos rushed out from behind a nearby hillock (2d10+2=12). The ensuing melee was messier than Linos had hoped, as Irenaeos' ekdromoi had poor timing and were not fighting against half-beached Liburni but several crews worth of their infantry. Still, their superior training and ability ensured that the Liburni would be forced off, even to some cost, and at last they retreated.

But the retreat forced those ships back out into the harbor, where there was disorganization and confusion due to their entrance to the Liburnian line. It was at this point that Linos calculated to strike, playing on their fear by making an entirely silent approach except for the drums of the Eretrian rowers. Some of the pentekontors from the northern islands fled immediately, remembering the last time that the Liburni had faced Eretrian triremes, but the mainland fleets were more resilient, and stood firm, rowing ahead with grappling hooks in the hope of tangling oars and boarding the Eretrian triremes.

They failed. Linos ordered a diekplous, where Eretrian triremes would sail in a line and between the gaps of enemy ships and use it to sow confusion and discord while swinging suddenly right or left into pentekontors and ramming them. It was successful (2d10+3=17), and at once the Liburni began to break and scatter. Some fleets wanted to preserve their seapower, but Linos was not very willing to accept this. Individual trireme captains, with the initiative and confidence to execute the manuever, turned around after breaking through the harbor into open water and fell upon the fleeing forces, pushing them to shore (2d10+4=21). Here there was a bloodbath, where the ekdromoi and psilloi caught the washed up rowers and sailors and began to cut them down mercilessly until the water ran red.

Soson paid for his mistakes for his life, for he declared he did not wish to flee but to die like a man, and then rammed his own pentekontor, burning from Eretrian fire arrows, into one of the Triremes. He was able to grapple on and fought valiantly, but his own ship was burning and sinking and he was surrounded and beat to death by Eretrian rowers. Kopon, meanwhile, landed ashore after his own ship had sunk, and then was stabbed to death by Irenaeos, who identified him as an enemy admiral and so killed him personally.

The remaining pentekontors fled north, limping home, and peace was expected now. The war was won, and Linos was once again the hero of the hour.

Results

• 1 Trireme damaged, 23 rowers killed
• 35 Liburni Pentekontors destroyed
• 35 Ekdromoi killed
• ~2,500 Liburni killed or captured
• Defeat of the Liburni

The Linean Dialogue

In a few weeks, the Liburni returned, but this time with envoys. Upon seeing the returning remnants of their fleets, and the terror in the eyes of their men, they had sued for peace. This, however, was an Eretrian claim, and it is far more likely that there had always been a faction of the Liburni who had opposed getting into a war, and when the war was lost, this faction gained prominence among them and pushed for a peaceful resolution. Linos was there to greet them, demure and not showing much pride in his victory, and yet basking in it all the same, dispatching messengers and envoys home to tell them of his triumph.

To Irenaeos' growing rage. Having gathered up a group of Liburnian prisoners after the battle, he sought to make an example now, even as negotiations began with the Liburnian confederation, with terms sought that would concede the southern islands but give back Liburnian prisoners. It would also include a fifty talent indemnity and a promise for the Liburni to cease their piracy, with the treaty meant to last another twenty years. But Irenaeos, robbed of glory, he demanded blood. Grief-stricken at the loss of his brother during the battle, he struck out. When he began to publicly, and to the cheers of some of the ekdromoi, execute prisoners one by one, naming ekdromoi or rowers that had died for each prisoner, Linos called a stop to it. From this conversation, recorded by Linos for posterity and propaganda and immediately famous in Eretria, emerged a philosophical debate.


The piece, almost certainly not a factual description of what occurred according to eyewitnesses, was nevertheless true in that afterwards Irenaeos left the prisoners alone, and per the terms of the peace they were given back to the Liburnians. At last, they sued for peace and conceded, ending the war. Linos' dialogue was circulated soon after, in a clear show of political dominance, and perhaps even sent first to Athenagoras Symmachos to distribute to the city. It was important not in how it showed Linos as obviously correct, but that it confronted for the first time in Eretria the subject of a just war, and the tension between the twin traditions of mercy in peace and grave destruction in war that the city carried since its founding. From this seed, planted to grow a political fruit, perhaos one day a philosophical discourse could sprout to argue this crucial question. For now, it served mostly to be the end of Irenaeos' political career, and despite his successes he resigned his post as strategos before the end of the year, unable to get his own version out and with the Exoria embarassed by his rhetoric and poor public image.

Results

• Linos stops Irenaeos from executing Liburni prisoners in a propagandized dialogue
• Peace is made, conceding the southern islands to Eretria
• The peace includes an indemnity of 50 talents and a concession of defeat
• The Liburni will promise to abandon piracy

Colonizing the Adriatic Dodecanese

In the meantime, of course, Eretria had to grapple with its considerable new territory. Already, four-hundred citizens from the Epulian League were ready to go to the colony of Pharos, having been gathered while negotiations were ongoing. Composed mostly of men, women and children from Pylona, many of them had farmed marginal land in the foothills of Mount Garganos and now sought land in what was named the "Adriatic Dodecanese", a collection of twelve islands on the Adriatic Coast that belonged fully to Eretria except for one, which it shared with the trading outpost of Melaina Kerkyra, colonized by the Kerkyrans but independent of their mother city.

Eretria also had the founding families of Lykai, of course, to deal with, and had to figure out where to place them. With the adriatic campaign won and most of the navy returning home except for a small garrison force and some ekdromoi, it was imperative that several hundred or even as much as a thousand Epulians are placed strategically on the islands, lest the remaining Liburnian population rise up or the Liburni renege on the deal and attack their forts. Further, winter would fast approach; October was coming, and although Eretria had more than enough grain to supply any new colonies through the winter, it was better to start earlier rather than later. So a message was sent out to the Tarentines to bring over the founding families of Lykai. Now the only matter left to Eretria was the matter of colonizing these new islands. How would it to do so, and where would it direct the founding families of Lykai? Many of them were wealthier or well-off, but they are not very well-disposed to Eretria. Outright enslaving them would be out of the question as they were brought to Eretria under the terms of truce and peace, and exile would be a waste, but perhaps it would be better to disperse them or dispatch them to the Adriatic colonies rather than keeping them in Eretria. Still, if they were made loyal, they would be a useful addition to the city's metic population, with many of them skilled tradesmen and craftsmen.

Should a colony at Pharos or Issa be prioritized? This colony will be favored by Eretria, grow at a faster rate, will be designated the main port of the region, and have a larger starting population.

[] [Colony] Issa. The outer island of the Adriatic Dodecanese has fewer Liburnians settled on it and is an excellent transit point for Eretrians crossing the Adriatic [-40 talents of grain and construction costs, 600 colonists found Issa, -100 pop from Eretria, 400 colonists found Pharos, -50 pop from Eretria].
[] [Colony] Pharos. The excellent natural harbor at Pharos would make it a fine place for a central Adriatic port, even if it has a larger indigenous population. [-40 talents of grain and construction costs, 600 colonists found Pharos, -100 pop from Eretria, 400 colonists found Issa, -50 pop from Eretria].

How should the founding families of Lykai be dealt with?

[] [Lykai] Settle them in Eretria [+800 Metics in Eretria, citizen ratio falls accordingly].
[] [Lykai] Spread them out through the Epulian League and colonies [+100 settlers in each Epulian city including Ankon and the colony chosen to be the primary colony for Eretria in the Adriatic Dodecanese].
[] [Lykai] Settle them in the new Illyrian colonies [+600 settlers in primary Illyrian colony, +200 in second Illyrian colony].


The Siege of Kymai

For a year, since news of the fall of Capeva and the siege of Kymai by the interior Oscans, there have been Eretrians calling for the city of Kymai to be rescued or somehow saved from its predicament. Obander Eupraxis has regaled the people with grim tales he has heard of the Battle of the Marshes where Kymai's army was defeated and slaughtered. However, all of this advocacy has been tempered by practicality. Eretria would not have the supplies and resources to fight the Oscans overland, and even if it did, without a resolution to the crisis in Sicily and the Illyrian war it would not make any sense to begin laying plans. Many citizens, however, made an effort to propose solutions, with Phylakos the weasel-salesman speaking of the grave deprivation the citizens of Kymai finding themselves in, and Arktos Arkadios advocating a hare-brained scheme to ship the population to the head of the Adriatic.

Now, however, with the situation in Sicily and Liburnia at least temporarily resolved, attention could be put back to these issues. This is especially so now that more bad news has arrived. The city of Neapolis, rather than resisting, has simply surrendered to the Oscans, who have taken a large tribute and let the citizens live in peace. Kymai, however, has refused such offers, and in any case it is feared it will not be accepted for Kymai is many times larger than Neapolis. The potential of using an overland route has been quashed by even worse news, that the city of Poseidonia on the Lucanian coast has fallen after a Lucani raiding party took the city gates through a night attack during a period of civil strife. Many of its men have been killed or fled to Hyele, while its women and children have been adopted by the Lucani.

Instead of proposing their own solutions, however, the demoi opened up solutions to the people. In order to give parameters to an intervention or assistance of Kymai, however, Obander Eupraxis in discussion with strategoi has drafted a number of parameters that any intervention must deal with. This information was gathered up from his own observations and from merchants; in truth he admitted part of the reason he went to Hyele was to explore options regarding Kymai and the situation the city was in.

These parameters are:

• The Oscans cannot be negotiated with to leave the city alone. They come to plunder and settle, not demand tribute, and even if Kymai paid them off, they would secure the entire hinterland around the city for their herds, leaving nothing for its farmers and causing the city to starve.
• Kymai has enough of a granary to hold out, with the supplies it is purchasing from its neighbors from its treasury, for three more years.
• An overland rescue is out of the question, as doing so would require crossing hostile and unknown lands inhabited by interior peoples entirely willing to attack Eretria. It is not worth the risk.
• Given that, confronting the Oscans directly would be very difficult given that troops need to be dispatched over sea routes. The Oscan Campani can also raise up to 10,000 men against you.
• If the city wishes to offer Kymai land in the Adriatic as a subject, its people, or part of its people, must first accept. The people of Kymai are proud and may be skeptical of such a proposition if not presented well.
• The city of Rhegion must be convinced of the value of such an expedition.
• Eretria does not have enough ships to rescue the entirety of Kymai. Despite legends speaking of Eretria only having triremes when it landed in Italia, these triremes were accompanied by many fat-bottomed merchant ships which were scrapped for wood soon after arrival. At most Eretria can save up to 7,500 Kymai citizens and supply them on their journey to a new home, assuming they are willing, and increase that number depending on choices or circumstances.
• Eretria must negotiate with whoever they're settling the citizens with if they wish to go through this route.
• Kymai's people cannot be resettled in Epulia.

And, of course, it is always possible not to save the city of Kymai. Doing so will be complicated, take up Eretrian resources, and overhadow any ambitious expedition proposed by the Demes in another direction, such as war with the Dauni. Instead, Eretria can spend some money for the sake of both practicality and its conscience, and help supply the city as well as secure voyages to those who wish to leave to Sicilian or Italiote poleis, including Eretria.

The choice is up to the ekklesia.

[] [Kymai] We must save the city! [Begins the Kymai Rescue Quest Chain. -1 foreign mission for each Demos in the next election. Demes will put aside any complicated or military expeditions until the next election cycle].
[] [Kymai] We cannot risk such an expedition [-10 talents per turn until city falls or the siege is relieved by another power, Eretria will provide grain shipments to the city and ferry refugees wherever they wish. Chance of picking up some of Kymai's citizens at random].

A/N: Congratulations for surviving one of the first real challenges of the quest, the Sicilian congress. If you choose to begin the Kymai Rescue Quest Chain, a number of options will appear following this turn and the election next turn that will allow you to choose what route you want to take. For now, I welcome players to discuss options of where Kymai should be settled, if it should be settled, or if there are any alternative options other than that. I will incorporate options I feel make good points or go in interesting directions as part of the overall quest chain. There is a chance of failure. This is a complicated expedition, and it's risky. But if it is successful, it will provide a number of rewards that will become more apparent if players succeed far enough to get them.


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