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There is a long, uncomfortable silence as each group of rivals considers the threat – you note that your words do not produce the instantaneous terror that you expected. Instead, the pirates seem to engage in communications amongst themselves for a deeply uncomfortable minute. The Phoenicians are hissing at each other – a young man saying, “የእሱን መጠን ተመልከት!” and an older, grizzled man responding “እሱ ግዙፍ ሞኝ ነው, እና ሞኞች ሊታለሉ ይችላሉ”- harsh syllables that mean nothing to your unlearned ear.
The Hellenic pirates, however, simply glare at each other soundlessly – until the eldest of them slips away in the dark, without a word. The tension breaks, and the remaining Hellenes follow suit – they retreat to the bow-end of the hold, although whether to flee the ship outright or simply hide, you do not know.
The brownskinned Phoenicians re-evaluate their position – at 8 to 1 odds in tight quarters, perhaps they felt confident at the prospect of combat with you. Less so now – you watch as they scamper in retreat towards the rent opening in the stern hold, where the broken end of the ship opens up to sun and sky.
The matter accomplished, and no longer fearing the prospect of an ambush – you turn to the slaves. They are terrified out of their wits, half-starved and traumatized after their abuses, but they respond quickly as you order them out of their cage and to ascend to the main deck. You step out into the noon-day sun, with the bedraggled prisoners in your shadow. The pirates have abandoned the main deck entirely – a few more bodies are present that you recall, having taken Salaminian javelins in the back, and several more pirates are moaning in agony as they attempt to gather the courage to withdraw the fire-hardened missiles from their guts, thighs, or sides. In your estimation, these wounded can safely be ignored. The deck itself is quite uneven, starting to roll, its death spasms have begun. You have only minutes.
To your great relief, you see that Ajax’s galley has not yet departed – instead, having swung around the dying merchant vessel to the opposite side. Across the deck, in the distance, you see another pirate’s ship departing at all speed downwind, sails high and oars threshing. It seems that the Euboean’s companion had no appetite for a rescue or to risk an interdiction of Ajax’s galley.
You see Ajax’s hulking figure on the stern and you raise a fist to him in signal – he is quick to return the gesture. He expertly directs his oarsman to maneuver his galley quite close to the dying ship, and once the decks are aligned, you and your rescued slaves are quick to make the transition.
Once aboard, the Salaminians pay you no mind, already hard at work to deploy the main sails. Pollux and Castor appear at your side - Pollux claps you on the shoulder, looking no worse for wear – in fact, you see a fresh pink scar beneath the pierced bronze of his shoulder’s armor.
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