‘We will go to Neoptolemos and tell him what is happening. He will call other kings to join him, and we can gather an army together and attack Python from behind. We’ll have to march overland. And …’ Tisamenos paused. He owed it to Silvius to be honest. ‘Hope that your father doesn’t fall to him from the south.’

‘It’s the only way,’ whispered Silvius. Resolved, he stood firm, eyes glinting with purpose. ‘We will do it.’

Tisamenos found a small skiff that was sailing north to Phthia, and booked passage on it. The boat was leaving at dawn the next morning. They decided to sleep under the spreading branches of an oak tree. Elissa placed her bow carefully underneath her head, whilst Silvius cradled the quiver. Tisamenos went to sleep with his hand tightly around the neck of the sack.

He woke every time he thought he heard movement. Once he saw a squirrel scampering away from them. Another time he opened his eyes to see a fox regarding him with implacable blue eyes.

All too soon it was dawn. Before the sun was fully above the horizon, they were all in the stern of the skiff, moving at a steady pace to the city of Achilleos.

Tisamenos searched for dolphins, but none played around the bow. Elissa tried to engage the skipper in conversation. He was a fat, lazy man with crooked yellow teeth, and he deflected her questions with nods and grunts. So Tisamenos watched the sea in silence, and soon even Elissa stopped trying.

They landed in the full heat of mid-morning. A haze glimmered in the sky. Ahead of them was a wide, fertile plain, a herd of horses galloping in the distance. It was a lush, rich landscape of a kind Tisamenos had not seen before. He had heard of the grasslands of Thessaly, and the famous horses that were meant to be bred by the North Wind. Watching them vanish into the horizon, he felt a thrill.

‘How far is the city?’ asked Silvius.

‘I don’t know. But we Achaeans never build our cities that far from the sea. We will go inland.’

The shoreline became grass very quickly, and there was only a narrow road, barely paved, leading away from it. The skipper simply shrugged and pointed, as if the way was obvious, and then carried on with his own business.

They had only been walking for a short while when they heard the sound of tramping feet coming towards them. Regular beats, like a group of soldiers marching.

Suddenly, they were facing a patrol of armed men. Tisamenos counted six of them, in full armour, carrying spears and shields, with swords at their waists. They were tall and strong, and the three of them were no match.

‘What business do you have here?’ barked the commander, bringing his men to a halt behind him.

‘We come to seek Neoptolemos,’ answered Tisamenos.