In an alley near the wharves of Tyre, two small cubes of carved bone clattered against the wall of a building. The clattering of the cubes and the voices of men and one other echoed up and down the alley, some voices excited and pleased, other voices downcast and growling. The clinking of coins soon followed. Then again came the clatter of cubes and again the voices and again the clinking of coins.
Among the voices was that of a manchild, 18 years of age, not a boy's, but also not yet a man's. Edes pushed back the curled black hair on his head with a swipe of his left hand. It was a habit of his, this fussing about his hair, especially when he was nervous or unsure. Before him on the street was a pile of coins. He looked again at the cubes in his hand.
Each side of the six sided objects had painted circles like the black pupils of a man's eyes. One eye on one side, then two eyes on the second side, three eyes on the third side... and so forth. He held two of these crudely hewn cubes in his right hand.
He looked at the four fully grown men through his brown eyes and wondered if any had noticed the switch he had deftly made only moments before. The pot of coins was huge... it was the right time, he reasoned, to bring out from the place in his sleeve, the special cubes he always carried, the ones that always rolled four spots on one cube, and three on the other. His hesitation ended and he threw the cubes against the wall.
Four spots on one cube... three on the other... "Well, Tyreans, it looks like my luck is with me today," he said in his manish boy's voice. Then as he reached for the coins Edes noticed that one of the men picked up his cubes as if to return them to him. But the man was ham fisted and clumsy and dropped both cubes even as he was trying to pick them up. The cubes fell to the ground... four spots on one cube... three on the other. All four men went silent, looked at the cubes and then looked at Edes.
Another of the four men picked up the cubes and rolled them against the wall... Four spots on one cube... Three on the other. Perspiration began to bead on Edes forehead. A third man grabbed the cubes and rolled them... same result. Edes knew he couldn't run very fast carrying the coins, so when all four heads turned and glared at him, he did the only thing he could think of. He threw the coins at them, jumped to his feet and ran.
The echo of angry, shouting voices and heavy footfalls preceeded him up the alley as he fled for his life. He didn't have to imagine what they would do to him, their words and threats perfectly illustrated their intended mayhem. He ran and ran as far and as fast as he could towards the wharves, then rounded the corner of another alley and ran right into the center of the body of a stranger and fell backwards onto his backside.
The stranger was a tallish man, over 6 foot, slender of build but possessing a calm, soothing voice. "Something the matter, boy? Someone chasing you?"
Edes looked suspiciously at the tall man. How did he know? "Yes, I must hide."
"Try that ship over there. I know the Captain. Whoever you're running from won't find you there. Give the Captain this and he'll know it was I who sent you." The tall man threw an oddly shaped slender piece of bone about the size of a small coin to Edes. "Now go... and don't worry about those men."
Those men? How did he know it was men who were chasing him? But Edes always put his personal safety first and didn't pause to ask the questions pulling at his mind. He jumped up and ran to the ship. He found the Captain and showed him the object. It was exactly as the tall man said. Edes was hidden and safe.
The tall man watched Edes run down the alley and towards the wharf. Then he smiled. Young man, he thought to himself, your adventure... and indeed your real education has just now begun. Then the tall man turned to walk down the alley and deal with the four men who sought to harm Edes.
[This message has been edited by Civis Romanus (edited 11-06-2000).]