The Great Satrap was sitting in his throne in the Great Hall. He could see the temple construction in the distance. What a great sight to behold.
Then he saw his advisor come into the room. Too late to escape. The advisor had seen him too...
- Good morning, O Great Bastavar, I have come to get your approval on the quarterly report. First of all, your idea of a tax on cargo ships is working out well. Money is flowing in the coffers. King Darius will be pleased.
- It was your idea.
- Well, maybe it was... Anyway, to continue with the slave report, you'll be happy to know that the last plague resulted in a 33% decrease in the number of unproductive slaves. Many elderly and only a few children fell victim. In addition, a number of children have turned 12 and have become full-time workers.
Bastavar looked towards the temple once again. How could King Darius send such a boring man to spy on him? He turned his attention to the advisor once more.
- Our safety report is also very encouraging. We only lost 53 slaves this last month. That's a 28% decrease for the year. Continuing with our military report, ...
The advisor was quite excited as he delivered the report to the Governor. However, none of his enthusiasm could be heard in his monotonous voice. Bastavar was so bored that he was beginning to fall asleep. He no longer heard the dull and tedious presentation.
- ... seen drunk, the advisor finished.
- What? Bastavar said as he stared at the advisor, as if surprised to still find him in the room.
- I said he was probably drunk.
- Oh, well, then punish the drunkard!
- That would be difficult." The advisor was slightly annoyed. "As I just said, the guard, Pishkar, I believe, hasn't been seen in several days. His superiors believe that he fell in the harbor.
- Punish his superiors then." Turning away, Bastavar almost shouted for joy. "Farida, my daughter, I was expecting you.
- But father, I never...
- No need to apologize, my dear, my advisor was just finishing." The Governor turned back as he was heading to the courtyard. "Dispatch that report to King Darius immediately."
In the meantime...Khumnhotep and Ankhu were soon contacted by a recruiting soldier. They were told to meet at the fort in the next few minutes. Leaving their glasses half full, they left in a hurry, thinking it may not be wise to disappoint the general on their very first day. While waiting for the general to arrive at the fort, they noticed that soldiers of many different races were present.
The Greek general appeared to his troops, who were assembled neatly on the fort grounds. He looked at them, and saw a disparate group of people: Egyptians, Greeks, and other ethnicities, all willing, he thought, to fight for the Greek empire. They were trained now, ready to fight, and he thought he would give them a word of warning...
He spoke slowly, in a deep voice.
- I want you all to be aware... that any attempt to betray the trust of the Greek army will be punished by death. Whoever is caught leaking information to the enemy will be executed immediately. I hope this is clear to all of you. That said, may you conquer your enemy for the glory of Greece!
The general stepped down from his podium. His message had had the intended effect. Silence had come down on the fort, and the soldiers felt a little uneasy... Among them, Khumnhotep and Ankhu thought to themselves: "Not only do we have to betray the Greeks against our will, but we risk our lives for it as well... is this really better than our life as slaves?", they pondered...
Meanwhile in the Carian palace...- Magistrate, your envoy has arrived, the guard said.
- Good, Chombyses replied. Send him in... I do hope he has good news.
The envoy was a rather tall man, slightly tanned, with deep, dark, determined eyes. He looked young, probably no more than 22. He addressed the Magistrate regarding matters of diplomacy. After a few minutes, Chombyses decided to brag about his new recruits, as he usually did...
- You'll be happy to know that I've acquired two new recruits who will spy for me in the Alexander's army. Chombyses was pretty proud of this, and he said it in a joyful voice. The envoy wasn't too surprised, as every time he was sent to see the Magistrate, the latter spoke to him of his new "recruits" as he called them.
Out of pure curiosity, and to make conversation, the envoy asked:
- What are their names?
- I think one is named Khumnhotep and the other is his friend Ankhu. Good men, those two, ready to serve my interests. I think they'll do well... Of course, he said, amused, they don't really have a choice, do they?? He laughed... Turning to the envoy, he added: "Why do you ask, Maatkare?"
- Oh, it's nothing, really, Maatkare replied, trying to get the words out of his throat. He had suddently grown paler, and felt very sick to his stomach. "Just that I need to know who my contacts will be when I bring back the information to you, Magistrate." He tried terribly hard to smile, but only a very faint smile lit up his face.
"How is it", he thought, "that I have to come all the way to Caria to hear news of my wife?... this is indeed a happy day for me. Khumnhotep and Ankhu will definitely tell me about Henutset. I do hope she is well... I must see Khumnhotep and Ankhu quickly". Having said goodbye to the Magistrate, Maatkare turned around and left in a hurry, trying to slow his pace down a little to avoid raising suspicion. "What will she say", he thought, "when I tell her I've been forced to become a Persian envoy?". Little did he know that his wife was even closer than he thought...