Prologue - Scrolls of Polydorus
***
Outside of Kameiros, Island of Rhodes, Kingdom of Italy
July 31, 1938
"This is it. We found it, Professor!" exclaimed Marios.
"Let me see," said Dr. Hartwick, anxiously.
Marios reached into the tiny tomb that was no larger than a common chair, in design. He laid his oil lantern on the stone floor inside, illuminating a small, obscurely simple sealed box, and begun to try and fixate his hands around its peculiar design, to get a grip strong enough to haul it out. Professor Hartwick joined him, and they both gripped on to some leather straps which were bounding close the box. Together they heaved and pulled the box out of its archaic tomb, and rested it on the ground, by its rock side resting place. The sun was beating down furiously upon their archaeological site.
The professor rubbed his rough, leathery hand over the dusty box, the dust and sand so encrusted upon it, that only the rough outline of the bounding straps could be made out from the rest of it, seemingly encased and mimicking a sort of hollow stone.
One of the helpers revealed a small saw, and had begun cutting the straps.
The professor equipped his chisel and hammer, and with the straps cut, he began to beat lightly on the seemingly invisible encasement crack, which kept the box closed, only further emboldening their excitement, which had erupted into a much needed fiery hopefulness.
The crusted sand cracked along the opening, and the top of the box budged up. The professor threw aside the chisel and hammer, and held the top of the box in both hands, slowly lifting it, he paused.
"This is the moment, gentlemen. This is my life's work, revealed before us. A piece of history that will change what we've been fooled into believing all this time..."
The professor took a deep breathe, and opened the box. Inside, the box was relatively well kept. The scrolls were as fresh if they were recently written.
"Thirty years, Marios. Thirty years I've spent chasing these scrolls," he said, looking over the seal of one of the scrolls, as he made out the inscription.
Marios' mouth dropped. "Are they the ones?"
A smile crept up the side of Professor Hartwick's face, as he was tightly gripping every fiber of his being to conceal the excitement. "Polydorus," he said. "They are the ones. My God, Marios..."
***
Two weeks later...
Port of Rhodes Town, Island of Rhodes
"When we get these back to the society of studies, they will be utterly enthralled, Marios. This is the proof we've needed all these years. Polydorus' histories," said Dr. Hartwick, stirring his tea, with a smile which seldom fades from his face, a sure sign of his over joyous recent enlightenment.
The two waited patiently in their cabin for the ship's departure.
Laying his notebook on the table, he flipped it open, and showed a written page to his assistant. "I've only just begun scathing the surface of the scrolls. There is so much we did not know."
Marios sipped his tea, and leaned inward, swirving his head to the side, to read the notes. "Remember when Antonis brought up the Rhodian merchant?"
"Straton of Lindos, yes. His name has been mentioned in the earliest reading from the scroll. It seems as though his role during Polydorus' time was evidently significant. Peeking into one of the other scrolls, I've learned these scrolls contain this Straton of Lindos' biography. This... Mystery man of Antonis'. It seems as though much of the man's life has been erased from the histories, by the Romans, when they took the island," he paused, to take a sip of his tea. "Once we return to Athens, I will delve into the readings deeply, to uncover why."
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
A sudden pounding on the door of their cabin startled Marios, who spilled his tea on his lap. "Dammit," he uttered, angrily.
There was an odd calmness in Professor Hartwick. He took another sip of his tea, and placed it back onto the plate, as if nothing was amiss.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
"Lionel Hartwick. Open up!" Barked a stern voice in Italian.
Marios was aghast. "What? Who is that?"
Lionel just stared at the notes in front of him. He was lost in a daydream.
"Open the door, Professor," the voice uttered again, in Italian.
"What is he saying?"
Lionel got up, and fixed his pants. He took the seat and pushed it in, and then proceeded over to the standing mirror, next to the door. He removed his eyeglasses, and took a cleaning rag off the night stand next to the door. He wiped his glasses, breathed upon them, and wiped them again. He placed them on and looked in the mirror. He fixed the cuffs of his already flawlessly wrinkle-free dress shirt, and proceeded to the door, to unlock the top latch, and then the lock above the handle.
Before he could manually turn the doorknob, it was turned from the other side, and shoved open, the door barely missing his left side, as he was forcibly sent back a step or two, just to avoid being hit.
An Italian soldier came into the room, pushing Lionel back lightly, with his forearm, forcing him back, until he was stopped completely by the back of lounging couch, as several other soldiers moved into the room.
Marios backed up his seat, and rose up lightly, petrified by the intrusive instance. But, before he could completely raise up, one of the soldiers put his hand on Marios' left shoulder, and forced him back down.
"It's all right, Marios. They will do you no harm," said Lionel, calmly, unable to move himself.
An Italian officer entered, with a lit cigarette in his mouth. He removed it and blew out the smoke, before throwing it to the hardwood floor below, and crushing it with his foot. He took a look around at the relatively luxurious suite, marvelling at the brilliant architectural design of the immense cabin. He looked over to the professor. "Where is it, Professor?"
Marios, a native Greek citizen, from Athens, did not speak a word of Italian, and was unable to comprehend the severity of the situation, and sat helplessly and oblivious.
Seven more soldiers spread out in the room, five looking, and two keeping the professor and his assistant from moving. The officer moved to Lionel's face.
The officer lifted the ship's ledger to read it. "Dr. Lionel Hartwick, is it?"
"Yes, officer-"
"-Captain," the officer snapped. "Captain Enzo Bondesan."
"My apologies, Captain," corrected Lionel.
"Tell me, Professor. Why have you come to Rhodes?"
"A dig. A dig authorized by the office of Governor Russo. I work for-"
"-The Archaeological Society of Athens. Yes," the captain boldly affronted.
"Were the specifics of this authorization unclear to you, Professor?" the captain asked, rhetorically. "They seem clear to me, as I read them for the first time this morning," he continued, looking over to an adjutant who had entered the room with a copy of the written document.
"Lieutenant?"
The lieutenant held the document to read it. "On the 2nd of July, 1938, the office of Governor Russo, of the Italian State of Rhodes permits the archaeological excavation of section seven prime twenty-seven Kameiros, for a dig to be completed by August 3rd and no longer of the same fiscal year."
"I recall the arrangement," said Lionel.
"Do you recall the fine print?" snapped back the captain, as he extended his hand to the lieutenant.
"In the event of significant findings which would merit documentation, one must report all such findings to the bureau of historical archives, in Rhodes Town, upon completion of work."
Lionel dropped his head slightly to the ground. The only thing below to stare at were the finely kept boots of the captain.
Captain Bondesan leaned forward. "A finding of the magnitude you possess-"
"-is priceless," replied Lionel, sharply.
"Everything has a price, Professor. Even dusty parchments of paper."
Lionel did not respond. He simply stared confidently into the captain's eyes, entertaining an expected response.
"This is what will happen. You will return the scrolls and any other finding to us, and return to Athens with your head held high that you made a discovery," said Bondesan, with a smirk.
"What of my assistant?"
"Marios Milonas. A naturalized Greek citizen. Naturally, he will be free to go as well, should you comply."
Lionel looked to Marios, being released by the soldier. He walked over to the table, and prepared to resume his seat, but a soldier put his foot on the back of the chair, to keep it in. The two men exchanged looks. Lionel brushed it off, and prepared to gather his notebook, with what notes he had jotted down in regards to his initial translations of the first scroll.
A soldier went to grab one of his hands, to interrupt him, but Lionel reacted and pulled his arm away from the soldier's reach. The soldier then grabbed him from behind, and dragged him backwards, this time Marios rose up, and he himself was grabbed by another soldier.
"Those are my notes. They are my notes, Captain."
"They are notes written illegally, without consent, as you did not receive permission to translate the scrolls, Professor."
"That's b
t, Captain," said Lionel, as he struggled to get free from the soldier's hold. "Let go of me. I am a British citizen, release me."
"You committed theft, Professor. We have every right to keep you both here, and then drag this out into a diplomatic mess. A British archaeologist working for the Greeks, who enters the sovereign territory of Italy and attempts to steal valuable artifacts from under the nose of authority, despite having signed a document that would only incriminate you and your accomplice? Do not go down this road, Professor. Return to Greece with decency befitting your decent societal status."
The captain's adjutant exits the room and snaps his finger, and in come a dozen soldiers who fan out with the others already present and begin tearing the room apart. They tear picture frames off the walls, empty out an entire bookcase of its packed literature. They enter the bedrooms and begin tearing the blankets off the mattresses and flipping the beds over. Drawers are pulled completely out, and emptied. A chest by the professor's bed has the lock smashed off it, and is flipped and emptied.
Lionel and Marios could do nothing but look on in anger, as they had technically breached the contract they signed pertaining to the dig.
Sifting through the clothing in the professor's chest, individual canisters are discovered, in which the scrolls are contained.
"We found them, Captain," announced one of the soldiers.
"Take the notebook as well," the captain ordered a soldier by the central table, who began collecting the notebook and some assorted papers along with it. He turned to Lionel. "Do not make this more difficult on yourself. You are being released to go on your way."
"This is a travesty, Captain."
"This is the law, Professor."
The Italians took possession of the scrolls and left Professor Hartwick and his assistant to their business, in returning to Athens with their oral findings. But all of their documentation of the translations and any associated material were confiscated, too early for them to even completely scan the surface of the information held secret within Polydorus' works.
Despite the Greek government's plea to have the scrolls handed over to Greek authorities for safeguarding, the Italian Government denied the request, and locked the scrolls into safe deposit, in Rhodes Town, where they remained for several years, before disappearing in 1944, when the Germans took control of the island, where they vanished for decades...
Biarchus
Rhodes of Gold: A Merchant's Tale
I wonder what these scrolls are and if there will be German involvement what may happen. Maybe some Nazi interest.....
The Scribbling Scotsman
Wrinkly Wordsmith
Campidoctor
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