Volume 6: The Meeting of Two Heroes, Chapter 48: Visitors from the South

As for the west, there was only the vast sea and several large islands, such as Sardinia, Corsica, and the Balearic Islands, most of which were controlled by Carthage. Davos did not yet have the audacity, while facing the threat from Syracuse, to offend another powerful force in the western Mediterranean. As for occupying an enclave in Gaul, Davos had never considered it. Not to mention that the Daonian navy was not very strong, such a long-distance cross-sea attack would not only drain national strength but might not even be defensible.

Daonia's expansion was truly constrained. How could he break this deadlock? Davos fell into deep thought...

...

September was the favorite month for the Daonians. It was not only the harvest season but also the month of the birth of Daonia's Patron Deity, the Lord of the Underworld Hades (that is, September 9th). At that time, there would be not only lively celebrations but also the finals of the All-Daonia Alliance rugby tournament. It was a month of revelry for all Daonians, especially in Thurii.

Therefore, while many Greek city-states, led by Athens, called September "Elaphebolion" (the month of the Deer Festival, used to honor the hunting goddess Artemis), in Daonia September was officially designated as the "Month of the Lord of the Underworld." Similarly, April was designated as the "Month of Marriage," used to honor Hera, whereas in many Greek city-states the marriage month was set in July...

It was evident that Daonia had begun to differ gradually from traditional Greek city-states in aspects of life, customs, culture, and so on.

On this day, a young man arrived at the port of Thurii. His name was Megaris. He was of medium height, not very strong, but with a well-proportioned and vigorous physique.

Clearly, it was his first time in Thurii. He hadn't expected so many ships in the port. It took him a long time to get onto the dock, and then he struggled to squeeze out of the port. Outside the port, even the horse-drawn carriages and carts for hire had long been taken. He had to walk for over an hour to reach the outskirts of Thurii, where a long queue had already formed.

Megaris was not in a hurry. He waited in line according to order, listening to the people around him chatting excitedly about "what grand performance would be staged at Victory Square for this year's Hades Festival" or "guessing which city's team would be the champion of this year's rugby tournament..." He moved forward with the flow. By the time he faced the city guard's inspection, it was already past noon.

Although hungry and thirsty, he had to patiently answer the city guard's questions.

"Are you a Daonian citizen? If not, please go back. For these few days, foreigners and freemen are not allowed inside Thurii!"

"I am a Daonian citizen. My name is Megaris. I live in Crimissa. My number is 1356..." Megaris said fluently.

The city guard stared at him and said, "Let me see your identity token." According to Davos's proposal, Daonia had begun making a palm-sized bronze token for every full citizen the year before last (Thurii had copper mines, so it was convenient). On the front was engraved the citizen's name, and on the back the city of residence and the citizen number of that city. It was a simple identity verification, but for that era, it was a great innovation, making it convenient for Daonia to manage the movement of citizens within its territory, especially for the public officials of the Census Department—it was simply a blessing. For example: if a citizen living in Thurii committed a crime in the city of Asperustum, that city would record his offense and send it via mail cart to the Census Office belonging to the city of Thurii. The public official would first have to find that citizen's file to record the offense. With several tens of thousands of citizens in Thurii, and many with the same name, it was a very troublesome task. Now with the city citizen numbers, it was easy to find. Moreover, although the bronze identity tokens were simple to make, each city's numbers were unique, making it easy to check for forgery. Once someone forged one, according to Daonian law, it was a serious crime. Who would dare to fake it?

Megaris unhurriedly took the bronze token from his bosom and handed it to the city guard.

The guard examined it carefully, then tossed the token back to him. There were many people entering and leaving Thurii every day, so the guard naturally would not register him. He pointed to the bulging bundle on Megaris's back and said, "What's inside?"

"They're all coins. You know, the rugby tournament lasts nearly a month, so expenses will definitely be high," Megaris said.

"Open it and let me see," the guard said seriously.

Megaris opened it reluctantly.

"Clink, clink..." The guard reached in and stirred them a couple of times. They were indeed all coins. He nodded and said, "Go on in."

Megaris shouldered his bundle and took two steps.

"Oh, wait," the guard called out from behind. Megaris's heart suddenly jumped.

"You'd better deposit that money in Cheiristoya Bank. Withdraw it when you need it. That's safer."

Megaris breathed a sigh of relief and repeatedly thanked him.

Once inside the city, following the map he had looked at earlier and asking people for directions along the way, he finally found this inn not far from the Daonia Grand Arena.

There were already many people in the lobby.

Megaris squeezed to the counter. The attendant inside glanced at him and said apologetically, "Sorry, all the rooms here are full."

"I have a reservation," Megaris replied immediately.

The attendant was taken aback and quickly asked, "Which room number? Who reserved it?"

"Room 17, reserved by Auroras," Megaris answered fluently.

The attendant immediately opened the registration book to check. "That's right, Room 17, indeed reserved for five days in advance. So, your name is Megaris?"

Megaris showed him the bronze token.

After confirming, the attendant nodded and said, "Please follow me." Then he led Megaris upstairs.

"Lucky guy," someone in the lobby muttered. In fact, among those attending the festival, many people stayed directly in the homes of Thurii citizens. Only some newly minted citizens or preparatory citizens, who had no friends or acquaintances in Thurii, had to stay in inns.

Megaris entered the room. After the attendant left, he quickly bolted the door and carefully inspected the interior layout.

Then he walked to the bed, forcefully moved it outward a bit, reached under the side against the wall, and fumbled around. Soon he pulled out a tightly wrapped bundle of linen cloth.

He opened it carefully. Inside was a blue-glinting dagger...

Over the next few days, Megaris walked through every street and alley in Thurii, especially visiting the Temple of Hades many times, observing the terrain. Except when he cautiously inquired from the Thurians about the festival, he was otherwise solitary, trying to avoid contact with others.

However, he developed a bad habit while in Thurii: he fell in love with the cuisine at Cheiristoya's Restaurant. Although he had faced death many times on the battlefield, this mission placed considerable pressure on him. Where was the best place to relieve stress in a city? Of course, a restaurant (though in Daonia, it was the arena).

As a mercenary who had lived a frugal life, Megaris was quickly captivated by the delicacies at Cheiristoya's Restaurant—shabu-shabu beef and mutton, tripe, fresh fish soup, honey bread, fried cod... every dish made his mouth water. So he soon picked up some "bad habits" of the Daonian rich—eating all three meals a day at the restaurant.

But he forgot one thing. In order to secure a room in Thurii, he had arrived eight days before the festival on September 9th. The food at Cheiristoya's Restaurant was not cheap, and especially during the festival, with the city packed to capacity, the prices of all consumer goods were rising. Naturally, food was no exception. After a few days, Megaris found that his "Hades silver coins" had run out. He had to pay with coins from other city-states, but the restaurant's attendant refused to accept them, saying, "We only accept silver coins issued by Daonia, not coins from other city-states."

Helpless and also for convenience, Megaris took all the money from his bundle to Cheiristoya Bank.

When his turn finally came, the bank employee asked him from behind the iron grille at the counter, "Are you depositing or withdrawing?"

"Exchanging for Daonian silver coins," Megaris said, patting the bundle on his shoulder.

The employee looked at it and handed out a piece of papyrus: "Write down the name of the currency you want to exchange and the amount..."

Megaris looked embarrassed. "I... I cannot read."

The employee was clearly used to this situation. He continued in the same tone, "In that case... tell me how much currency you want to exchange, then push the coins to be exchanged through here. Watch as I verify it for you. Do you agree?"

Megaris hesitated, then nodded in agreement. He told the employee the types and amounts of currency he wanted to exchange.

The employee listened while writing it down. When he heard "Syracusan four-drachma coins," his stylus trembled slightly. However, Sicilian merchants occasionally came to Thurii to deposit and exchange currency, so such coins were not too rare.

After finishing the record, as Megaris was pushing his bundle through the window, he called another employee to count and verify.

While opening the bundle and counting the coins, the employee appeared casual but was actually extremely careful. Among the coins in the bundle, the "Syracusan four-drachma silver coins" were the most numerous, and some were brand new. His heart began to pound involuntarily...

"My lord Antistanos, when you go to Laüs this time, you must reason well with that boy! He's only been a magistrate for a few days, hasn't even warmed the seat, and already wants to revise Laüs's laws and strictly govern illegal activities within the city..." Davos said with some frustration. "He's declaring war on those nobles of Laüs (in fact, the former tribal chieftains), and he even makes noise about granting more rights to the commoners. Hmph! Who does he think he is? Even his father didn't dare to do such a thing! What does he take Laüs for? Daonia, or Athens? No, he simply doesn't realize that Laüs is not a real Greek city—it's just an old tribal confederation given a different name..."