Volume 5: The Hegemon of Southern Italy, Chapter 92: Mission to Brutti (Part 2)

“When did we Bruttians become so friendly with Greeks! Just because they are Daonians, are we afraid of them!” Kanalu shouted indignantly. Over the past year or so, though the Bruttians had remained relatively isolated, they were still aware of the major events happening outside their world. The sudden rise of a powerful city-state alliance around the Bruttian region had indeed put pressure on the leaders of various tribes. Only young men like Kanam refused to accept it: “We are wolves, and Greeks are nothing but sheep. No matter how many sheep there are or how fat they get, they can never defeat wolves!”

“Enough, Kanalu. Don’t forget what your father told you before he left. You certainly don’t want him to hear that you ignored our advice again, anger him, have him strip you of the rights you’ve just gained, and then give them to your brother instead.” Another older man stepped forward to persuade him.

Kanalu seemed to recall something, his expression shifting slightly. He stormed out in a huff, but before leaving, he shot a vicious glare at Antaoris.

Antaoris was listening intently as his attendant whispered a translation of their conversation. He saw the old man approach and speak in a gentle tone: “Envoy of Daonia, I am Bagiripi, a leader of Besidia. This is Brim, also a leader of Besidia.”

Antaoris smiled, bowed in greeting, and gave his name.

“We will immediately send word to Cosentia of your arrival. For now, rest within the town of Besidia. Once permission to enter is received, we will send an escort to take you to Cosentia.”

…

The Bruttians slept simply—they covered themselves with animal hides and slept directly on the wooden floor around the fire pit.

After a whole afternoon of trekking and fright, Antaoris and his party were completely exhausted. They ate dinner, collapsed onto the floor, and quickly fell asleep, snoring loudly.

In the darkness, only one person remained awake.

Among Antaoris’ three attendants, one was his most trusted slave, who had meticulously taken care of his daily needs throughout the journey. Another was the translator, Adpigis, specially assigned by the Senate because Antaoris did not understand the Bruttian language. Adpigis was a registered freeman of Daonia. His mother was Greek, abducted by Bruttians, and after suffering abuse, she became pregnant and gave birth to him. From childhood, he had been a Bruttian slave, enduring all the hardships of life, until he seized an opportunity to escape the Bruttian mountains and eventually made his way to Thurii. He harbored a deep hatred for the Bruttians but was extremely patient and restrained. The last attendant, who still hadn’t fallen asleep, had been recommended to Antaoris by Mariji. Officially, he was a man from the Military Affairs Department, tasked with learning about the internal situation of the Bruttian region in case of future war. In truth, he was a preparatory citizen of Daonia, named Antrapolis, the younger brother of Aristelas, Davos’ private intelligence officer.

Since Izam’s reconnaissance battalion had gone with Davos to Tarentum, Antrapolis was indeed carrying out reconnaissance duties in this area. At that moment, he was trying hard to recall everything he had seen during the day: the approximate time it took to travel from Thurii to Besidia and how difficult the road was, the location and strength of Besidia’s fortifications, the approximate number of people and soldiers in the town, and judging the personalities of the Besidian leaders through their conversations… and so on. Antrapolis went over it again and again until it was clearly etched in his mind. There were still some vague points that he would need to confirm the next day.

After finishing this task, Antrapolis turned his gaze to Antaoris, who was sleeping opposite him—this was another target of his mission. He was to closely monitor and observe how this new senator from Crimissa would behave during the upcoming mission to Cosentia.

This was not Antrapolis’ first time doing such a thing. At the beginning, he had some resistance. He told his brother Aristelas: “The former tyrant of Syracuse, Hieron, once established a secret police system, spying extensively on the private lives of the citizens, which gave him a terrible reputation. I hope that Davos, whom we rely on, does not become that kind of person.”

But Aristelas persuaded him: “Hieron’s bad reputation was mainly because he was too autocratic, overly suspicious, and oppressive toward the citizens, causing widespread resentment. Davos, as a lifelong magistrate with a broad mind and calm head, knows how to protect the freedom of the people and should not make such a mistake. Moreover, his outstanding abilities—the rapid rise of the Daonia Alliance proves it—make him the best commander we brothers have found to oppose Syracuse and rebuild Catana. Therefore, consolidating his leadership and preventing malicious people from causing trouble has become one of my key responsibilities.”

Convinced by his brother, Antrapolis had tracked and investigated the activities of many senators. To be honest, the vast majority of senators supported and recognized Davos’ position as lifelong magistrate. A very few, like Polyxides, were dissatisfied with Davos, but they only expressed it verbally and never took any concrete action. As for Antaolis, he was the leader of the three senators from Crimissa. Since arriving in Thurii, aside from attending Senate meetings, he had kept mostly to himself, rarely contacting other senators, which made Aristelas quite curious. This mission was a perfect opportunity to understand this man from Crimissa and also provide reference for Davos when appointing high-ranking officials in the future. At least from what had been seen so far, although Antaoris was a noble from Crimissa, he could endure hardship and had courage. Antrapolis was looking forward to his subsequent performance.

The next afternoon, a messenger arrived from Cosentia, granting Antaolis and his party permission to enter Cosentia.

Bagiripi also sent ten soldiers, euphemistically calling them an “escort” to accompany the Daonian envoys to Cosentia.

The group left the town and began traveling westward along the mountain path. They hadn’t gone far before they were stopped.

Kanalu appeared before them on horseback, saying smugly: “Greeks, did you think you could leave without me offering you some hospitality!”

Antaoris and the others tensed up.

The Bruttian warriors responsible for the escort stepped forward to try to dissuade Kanalu, but he had his men block them: “Don’t worry, I won’t make it so you can’t report back.”

After making this promise, his face darkened, and a fierce glint appeared in his eyes. “Give them five lashes each, hard! Let them know that Greeks don’t get to pass through my city of Besidia without paying some price!”

Before Antaoris and the others could react, the Bruttian warriors swarmed them, pinned them to the ground.

Each received five lashes, leaving their skin torn and bleeding. Adpigis was enraged by the beating and began cursing in Bruttian.

Kanalu listened and burst out laughing, shouting: “Give him three more lashes!”

Adpigis was about to curse again, but Antaoris said in a low voice: “Adpigis, don’t forget why we are here!”

Adpigis shuddered at the words and slowly lowered his head.

Seeing that the Greeks had no reaction, Kanalu grew bored. He didn’t dare go too far, fearing his father’s anger. He shouted: “Cowardly Greeks, let’s go!” He tugged the reins and rode eastward along the road.

The four of them—Antaoris and the others—supported each other and trudged on with difficulty.

Although the terrain grew higher, the road was no longer rugged. The continuous mountains gradually receded to both sides, and ahead was gently undulating grassland, dense and soft grass dotted with colorful wildflowers, like a vast, boundless, multicolored carpet stretching into the distance… Flocks of sheep and cattle, along with horses, either grazed quietly on the slopes or galloped and frolicked, here and there thatched huts stood, some already with smoke rising from their chimneys.

They began to see more and more people on the road. Driving cattle and sheep, carrying goods, they appeared everywhere on the slopes, all heading in the same direction.

By evening, under the moonlight, Antaoris saw a towering, massive dark shape ahead. He knew it was Cosentia.

Since it was past the time to enter the city, Antaoris and his party had to set up tents and spend the night outside.

Early the next morning, the Bruttian warriors escorting them immediately reported to the city.

Soon, Antaoris and his party were welcomed by a guard of honor sent by the tribal alliance and invited into Cosentia.

After breakfast, Antaoris was taken to the council hall of Cosentia. Compared to the thatched hut in Besidia, this one was much more impressive and grand.

In the center sat one man, with three people on each side. The central seat was noticeably higher, indicating a clear hierarchy.

Antaoris thought about the news that the various Bruttian tribes had formed a tribal alliance under the leadership of the Great Chief of Cosentia. He bowed respectfully: “Respected Great Chiefs, I am Antaoris, envoy of Daonia. I bring greetings from the Daonia Senate!”

Before Adpigis could translate, the man in the center spoke in Greek: “Envoy of Daonia, welcome to Cosentia, the heart of the Bruttian Tribal Alliance. I am Piallen, Great Chief of the entire tribal alliance.”

As soon as he finished, the person closest to him on the lower left stood up and asked in Greek: “The Bruttii and Daonia have never had dealings before. May I ask what business the envoy has come for?”

At these words, everyone in the council hall focused their eyes on Antaoris.

Antaoris had not expected the Bruttians to put the question on the table so soon. He did not answer immediately but turned and asked: “May I ask who you are?”

“I am Sedorum, Great Chief of Vergae, and also an elder of the tribal alliance.” Sedorum was the only one among the several Great Chiefs who had had dealings with Daonia. A year ago, when the Lucanian League attacked Thurii, he had led his people to attack the camp of the then-mercenary leader, now Daonia’s magistrate, Davos. Later, when Davos devised a plan to surround and annihilate the Lucanian coalition, Sedorum seized the opportunity to break away from the Lucanian League. Since then, because Vergae was adjacent to Laüs, he had witnessed a series of events—the turmoil in Laüs, Avinogis’ rise to power, Laüs joining the Daonia Alliance—all unfolding like a revolving door. Thus, although he had never met Davos nor had direct dealings with Daonia, he was wary of Davos and Daonia. So when he learned that Daonia had sent an envoy, Sedorum warned the others to act cautiously, because Daonia’s power now clearly exceeded that of the Bruttii.