H41

The trip to Pergamon was quiet. Nobody wanted to mess with a ship being escorted by Dromons and Quadriremes, after all. We weren't at war with anyone at the moment and our escort was too beefy for Pirates to try. It just wasn't worth the losses they'd take and that's even assuming they could win, which was also unlikely. As it stood, I had plenty of time to spend with my family on the way to Pergamon.

Mind you, Ptolemy busied himself learning everything he could about how ships worked. My son was an energetic learner, always throwing himself headlong into new pursuits and working at it hard enough to be practically dead on his feet when he dragged himself back to our shared Royal Cabin. It was enough to make Lanassa worried for him.

Lanassa herself had grown attached to my kids from my first marriage. In contradiction to what had occurred in the old timeline, she'd come to care for them as if they were her own. It really was remarkable what fostering a happy home life could do to bind a family together. And to think, Pyrrhus Classic had wasted this potential by being a philanderer. It boggled the mind.

For Olympias' part, she spent much of the voyage seasick. Unfortunately, my Eldest wasn't an outdoorsy person and that seemed to extend to sailing. Fortunately, some turmeric tea with honey generally settled her stomach enough to go above decks for the last day and a half of the three-and-a-half day trip.

Meanwhile, Eurydice was sulking. It was unlike my youngest, energetic, child to sulk, but she'd been forced by Lanassa and I to leave Timoleon back at Ambracia. As a toddler, she had some pretty big feelings that she couldn't always manage on her own, and this was, apparently, a mood she would be in for a while.

For my part, I drifted between my family members, helping Ptolemy to literally learn the ropes of sailing, bringing Olympias pots of turmeric tea, trying to bring Eurydice out of her grumpy mood with the odd joke or story, and relaxing in our cabin with Lanassa. I was honestly glad for the family time. I wasn't entirely certain when the next big crisis would erupt and require my attention, so I had to make the most of it.

The war going on over Istros on the Euxine certainly had heated up. Last I'd heard, Bolgios had recaptured Tomis in a night raid that scaled the walls and opened the gates from the inside, but a Bosporan force under King Paerisades the Second's heir Spartikos had retaken Ibida and defeated a smaller Gallic Army of fifteen-thousand near Orgame and was now besieging that Subject Polis. Bolgios himself had moved to retake Salínes and the Valuable Salt Deposits there but had been blocked by Paerisades the Second. A major battle was brewing near Salínes, but I would need to wait until we docked to hear more news.

"This is nice." Mused Lanassa, snuggled next to me on a divan as we watched the sea.

"I know. This is what all the wars and all the planning is for. It's worth it, I think." I responded, grinning at my wife.

"I just wish you didn't have to campaign quite so often. It almost feels like you leave to make war upon some hapless foe every few years." Groused Lanassa.

"I thought you enjoyed my conquering hero thing." I chuckled.

"I do, but you could stand to be home more often." Snorted Lanassa.

"Well, we may not be home now, but we're still together. What say we make the most of it?" I questioned, waggling my eyebrows.

"You're incorrigible! Not in front of the children!" Admonished Lanassa, though I could tell the idea appealed to her.

"That wasn't a no." I teased.

"Stop!" Giggled Lanassa, swatting my arm before she snuggled into me further.

We spent some time like that, just snuggled up, watching the ocean. Eventually, though, the waves were interrupted by sleek, silvery, shapes as a pod of dolphins sliced through the waves nearby. They ran up alongside our ship, darting between our escorts to get close to the side of our Royal Hexareme, dorsal fins indicating their presence moments before the lead dolphin surfaced and blew water out of its blowhole.

"Look! Dolphins!" Cried Eurydice as she immediately stormed over to where we were and practically leaned over the side.

"Careful, Eury. You wouldn't want to fall overboard." Cautioned Ptolemy as he finished tying off a knot and came over to where we were, grasping Eurydice by the shoulder to ensure she didn't fall overboard.

"Dolphins? You know, the Priests say that Dolphins are omens of good fortune sent by Poseidon. I rather like the poetry in that. They're certainly graceful enough to be divine." Mused Olympias as she joined the rest of us. She was still unsteady on her feet, but at least she was no longer compelled to throw up over the side thanks to the tea.

"Indeed. I should think this bodes well for your marriage." I agreed.

"One can only hope so. I know if you find half as much happiness with Achaeus as I have found with your father, then I will consider it a marriage well-crafted." Smiled Lanassa.

"Thank you, Mother, I think Achaeus will be a good husband. We certainly share many interests." Nodded Olympias.

"Lord Poseidon seems to think so too, judging by his sending of these messengers. If he isn't, then he'll have to answer to me." Smirked Ptolemy.

"Ptoly's real strong, I bet he'd be able to beat this Achaeus into the sand easy!" Chirped Eurydice.

"Let's not go planning any honor duels just yet." I laughed.

"Indeed. I very much doubt Achaeus will mistreat our Olympias at all." Nodded Lanassa.

"Definitely not. From our exchange of letters, Achaeus seems too kind for that." Confirmed Olympias.

We spent the next few hours just sitting on the deck as a family, talking and watching the Dolphins slice through the sea alongside our ship. Some two hours later, the Port of Elaia came in sight. It was the primary port of Pergamon, as the city itself was further inland on the slopes of a mountain that sat on the banks of the Kaikos River. Elaia itself was large enough to be considered a subject Poleis of Pergamon rather than a town or smaller settlement. It sat at the Mouth of the Kaikos and its harbor took up a large section of the River Mouth.

As we pulled into port and the wealth and goods we brought as Olympias' dowry were unloaded from the ships and piled onto carts, I found myself looking out over the city and wondering just how much of the city wasn't here in Pyrrhus' Father's day. Pergamon hadn't become important until thirty-some-odd years ago when they had figured out a cheaper method for commercial production of parchment. That, combined with Phileataerus gaining autonomous control of Pergamon under Lysimachus' Rule had pretty much sealed the deal of the rise of Pergamon.

Now, Achaeus ruled in Pergamon after Phileataerus had died at the ripe old age of seventy-three. There had been some grumbling by Eumenes, Phileataerus' younger brother, about wanting to take over his brother's Satrapy, but Eumenes himself had been killed goose-hunting near Lake Tatta. Apparently, he'd drowned in the salt marsh there after losing his footing in the dark, not impossible due to the man's age and the conditions inherent to stumbling about in the wilderness at night.

With Eumenes' death, however, the Attalid Dynasty had been strangled in its crib, allowing Achaeus uncontested claim over Pergamon's territory, which included not just Pergamon, but the entire regions of Aeolia, Mycia, Troas, and Lydia. It was the third most powerful single unit of territory in the Seleucid Empire, outside of the heir's holdings in the East and the Imperial holdings of Syria, Mesopotamia, and Babylonia.

Apparently, that had been a major reform that Antiokos had performed as soon as he'd had the capability, the creation of three, large, royal, dominions that had the power of several satrapies in one. The idea was to cut down on potential civil strife and treachery by giving the Royal Family large holdings with which to keep on top of the Empire. I had to hand it to Antiokos, it would probably work for a while. Even in the case where one of the Royal Family Dominion Holders had a dispute with the Emperor, it was likely the other two would be able to dogpile the one in revolt, should it come to that.

Eventually, however, I was broken out of my musing by the carts being loaded fully and the horses and Carriage being saddled and ready to go. Ptolemy and I would ride at the head of our column, alongside our guards, while Lanassa, Olympias, and Eurydice would ride the carriage behind our spearhead. The forty carts filled with steel weapons, bolts of sea silk, dyes, and silver would come after. All along the procession, guards on horses would be posted to deter thieves.

With that, I mounted my steed, waited for the guards and my family to do likewise, and once they had, began moving the procession out of Elaia along the road North and East along the road running alongside the Kaikos River to Pergamon. This trip too was uneventful, save for a single sighting of some of the Hillmen who lived in the highlands of the Interior and would sometimes come down from their hills to rustle sheep or raid a caravan.

I could see them in their leather tunics with their iron, crescent-bladed axes, wicker shields, and iron javelins. They took one look at our guards, armed and armored with steel equipment, mounted on powerful Nisean Steeds with steel chain barding, and decided that we weren't to be trifled with. They turned and headed back into their hills before I decided to order my guards to charge them. We would wind up reaching Pergamon three hours later, having had no other interruptions on our journey.

We would be met at the gates by a procession from the Palace, with Achaeus at the head, waiting to embrace his new bride. . .

XXXX

AN: The next chapter is already up on the site-which-shall-not-be-named. If you feel like reading it, you can search my name on there to check it out. I can't link to the page thanks to site rules, though.

So yeah, a bit of a transitional and character chapter in this one. We get to see a bit of Pyrrhus' family life in these non-war chapters. Oddly enough, the historical Pyrrhus was a bad dad and a terrible husband. He was a philanderer who seemed to push his children to excel in ways that remind me a bit of the stereotypical tiger parent. Both of those qualities wound up backfiring on him, first when Lanassa left his ass for Demetrios Poliorcetes, taking the Ionian Islands with her, and second, when he got his son Ptolemy killed in battle near Sparta.

Of course, none of that is happening this time around, thanks to the SI bodyjacking Pyrrhus before any of it could happen. It's funny how actually being a good dad and husband can strengthen a dynasty, isn't it? The SI certainly thinks so.

As to Dolphins, fun fact, the Ancient Greeks actually did believe that Dolphins were a good omen sent by Poseidon. They also believed them to be capable of warding off bad fortune at sea. In fact, the Greek Epithet for Dolphins was Hieros Ichthys, meaning Sacred Fish. Having Dolphins swim alongside the Royal Ship is only going to fuel rumors that Pyrrhus has some kind of divine blessing. That will come in handy when reforming the religion.

At any rate, the next chapter will involve the first meeting with Achaeus, Olympias' new husband. Then we'll be into the wedding ceremony and the reception before returning to Epirus.

Stay tuned. . .