Tyla appeared next to Anticus under heavy guard as the leader of the kidnapers appeared.” Swine!" Anticus spat the word through manly(tm) clenched teeth. "If you harm but a hair of my lady I will make you eat your adrenal glands !!" The leader of the ruffians smiled coldly. "No one will be harmed if you obey. "You two are worthless to me dead. I have instructions that you be well treated and delivered unharmed to my client in three weeks. I will honor the bargain."

"Where are we going, hireling-and why should I trust the word of a brigand?" Anticus was secretly enjoying this a little. One seldom gets a chance to use the words "hireling " and "brigand" in the same sentence. "We are bound south-that is all you need to know."

The scrutator in Anticus came out.” And who hired you? What do they want?"

The leader smiled and held out a coin-a gold stater exactly like the ones in the pouch! "They pay well-that is all I need to know. Take them!" Anticus made to fight but Tyla stopped him. "This is not the time my husband. They are too many and too well armed, even for your Mighty Thews" she whispered. "Besides, they may lead us to the answers we seek. Then you can make them ALL eat their adrenal glands!"

Anticus thought a moment through the rage that boiled in his Mighty Heart "By the gods, you are wise my love-I will bide my time."

The small caravan traveled by night until they were clear of the city. Anticus and Tyla did not resist and the bandit leader, Odeanathus, kept his word. He was a professional and a job was a job. The couple was safe enough for now. The danger was at the end of the journey. Anticus behaved but waited for any chance to send word to his friends. If they could rouse the Subrostrani there was just a chance that PHI's evil plan -whatever it's foul details-could be thwarted. "We did it before and we WILL do it again" he said to himself with a fierce, desperate pride. But how?

The chance came at the end of the first week of their trek. They came upon a large group of men loading amphorae in a barge on the Maeander River. Their head man had a sullen look. Odeanathus was in a gregarious mood "Why so downcast, old man? You have enough wine to float that barge!" "And not a drop of it fit to drink!" hissed the headman. "Now we have to load this swill and haul it down to Miletus where we'll serve it to the fish." Another man, obviously the owner of the vineyard had the aspect of a man about to hang. "What happened?" Anticus asked, ever the scrutator. The owner spoke, in tone of utter agony: "Our vines have sour grapes !" One of the bandits chimed in. "Let us have some! We're brigands, we’ll drink anything!"

Some of the hooch immediately changed hands and started an impromptu and somewhat lowbrow wine tasting party. Tyla had a flash of inspiration. "What is a party without dancing?" Unbind my hands and I will make the sour wine sweet!" Odeanathus nodded his assent, and while the brigands drank their fill and were mesmerized by Tyla's dazzling (but tasteful) dance, Anticus slowly dismounted and walked to the still-laden barge. He managed to break his bonds (Mighty Thews) and slowly loosened the top of one of the amphorae. He poured out the wine so the old jug would float. With some handily available squid ink he wrote a short note in code that he hoped Aelius could break and put the note and the map in the pouch along with his calling card-a flawless black pearl. He resealed the amphora and addressed the amphora to the Rostrafarian most likely to retrieve it, given prevailing wind and current and the phase of the moon and what the hell, it's all we got...!

The party continued till the next morning with no causalities save the pounding heads of the bandits and Tyla's blistered tootsies. The barge began it's journey to the sea and the captive's caravan headed south to an uncertain fate. Would the message reach their compadres in time?