Free An Iliad by Alessandro Baricco Page B

here, walking around in the darkness, because sweet sleep won’t close my eyes while thoughts of the war and the sufferings of the Achaeans torment me. I am afraid for us, Nestor. My heart is bursting and my knees are weak. Come with me to the guard post. Let’s go and make sure the men are watching properly: the enemy is so close and could attack again, tonight.”
    “Agamemnon, glorious son of Atreus, lord of men, why are you afraid?” answered the old man. “Hector won’t always win, and in fact I say to you that he will endure sufferings much greater than the ones he made us endure today: we must only wait for Achilles to return to battle. But come, we’ll go to the guard post. Let’s also wake the others, Diomedes, Odysseus, Ajax …” He wrapped himself in a large, heavy purple cloak made of fine wool and took his spear. Together they went to find the others. They came to me, first of all.
    “Who is there in the dark? What are you looking for?”
    “Don’t be afraid, Odysseus. It’s Nestor, and with me is Agamemnon. Get up and come with us. We must get together and take counsel, and decide whether to flee or stay and fight.”
Diomedes
    They found me lying out on the hide of an ox, still armed, and surrounded by my men.
    “Diomedes, wake up! How can you be sleeping with the Trojans camped so close to our ships?”
    “Nestor, you are really something. Do you never sleep? Isn’t there someone younger you could send to wake the Achaeans one by one? But you are never tired, eh?”
    Finally we all reached the guard post. There no one wassleeping, the guards were armed and alert. Keeping a constant watch on the plain, they waited, listening for signs of the Trojans. Nestor looked at them proudly. “Go on watching like that, my sons: don’t let sleep overcome you, and our enemies won’t have a chance to laugh at us.” Then he crossed the trench and sat down on the ground, in a clear space where there were no bodies of fallen men. It was more or less the point where Hector had stopped when he saw night descending. We all followed him there, and sat down.
Odysseus
    “Friends,” said Nestor, “is there any one of you bold and confident enough to penetrate the Trojans’ camp and capture someone or listen to what they’re saying, to find out if they intend to go on fighting here, at our ships, or are thinking of returning to defend themselves within the walls of their city? If anyone could do such a thing and return safe and sound, his glory among men will be great. All the princes will give him rich gifts, and his enterprise will be talked of at every banquet, every feast, forever.”
Diomedes
    “I am both brave and bold,” I said. “I can do it. Give me a companion and I will do it. If there are two of us, I will be even bolder. And two heads are better than one.” Then they all offered; all the princes said they were willing to follow me. Agamemnon looked at me and said that I must choose. He said also that I mustn’t think of offending anyone, that I should choose freely. It didn’t matter even if I chose a man who was not of noble birth—no one would be offended. Hewas thinking of Menelaus, you see. He was afraid that I would choose his little brother. But I said: I want Odysseus, because he is brave and he is also clever. If he comes with me, we’d manage to escape even blazing fire, because he knows how to use his brain.
Odysseus
    He began to praise me in front of the others, but I made him stop. I said it was better to get going: the stars had made much progress in their course, and dawn was near. What was left of the night was all we had.
    We put on our tremendous weapons. Thrasymedes offered Diomedes a two-edged sword and a shield. Meriones gave me bow, quiver, and sword. We both put on helmets of leather: no bronze, no gleam that might betray us in the darkness. When we left, we heard in the darkness the cry of a heron. I thought it was a sign from heaven and that this time, too, Athena,