the-song-books.yossr

Chapter Twenty
WE GAINED THE BEACH, AND PULLED THE FIRST SHIPS onto the sand. Scouts
were sent ahead to watch for further Trojan ambush, and guards were
posted. Hot though it was, no one took off his armor.
Quicklyy, while ships still clogged the harbor behind us, lots were drawn
for the placement of each kingdom’s camp. The spot assigned to the
Phthians was at the farthest end of the beach, awayy from where the
marketplace would be, awayy from Troyy and all the other kings. I spared a
quick glance at Odyysseus; it was he who had chosen the lots. His face was
mild and inscrutable as alwayys.
“How do we know how far to go?” Achilles asked. He was shading his
eyyes and looking north. The beach seemed to stretch on forever.
“When the sand ends,” Odyysseus said.
Achilles gestured our ships up the beach, and the Myyrmidon captains
began unsnarling themselves from the other fleet lines to follow. The sun
beat down on us—it seemed brighter here, but perhaps that was onlyy the
whiteness of the sand. We walked until we came to a grassyy rise springing
from the beach. It was crescent-shaped, cradling our future camp at the side
and back. At its top was a forest that spread east towards a glinting river. To
the south, Troyy was a smudge on the horizon. If the pick had been
Odyysseus’ design, we owed him our thanks—it was the best of the camps
byy far, offering green and shade and quiet.
We left the Myyrmidons under Phoinix’s direction and made our wayy back
to the main camp. Everyy place we walked buzzed with the same activities:
dragging ships onto the shore, setting tents, unloading supplies. There was a
hectic energyy to the men, a manic purpose. We were here, at last.
Along the wayy we passed the camp of Achilles’ famous cousin, towering
Ajax, king of the isle of Salamis. We had seen him from afar at Aulis and
heard the rumors: he cracked the deck of the ship when he walked, he had
borne a bull a mile on his back. We found him lifting huge bags out of his
ship’s hold. His muscles looked large as boulders.
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