The words sent a shockwave through the Thurian delegation. Several of the men went pale.

Kunogelata had no choice but to request a recess, explaining that they needed to discuss the matter privately before making a decision. Davos nodded his assent. As the Thurian envoys walked a short distance away, he turned to Stromboli and gave him a thumbs-up. “Lord Stromboli, that was brilliantly said.”

“I was only speaking the truth from my heart!” Stromboli replied, his eyes wide.

“And the truth from your heart was precisely what was needed,” Davos said with a smile.

Stromboli smiled back. Today, he had finally vented his fury in the faces of the Thurians.

***

“Gentlemen,” Kunogelata began, his expression grave, “it is clear that Amendolara has already concluded an alliance with Tarentum. They would not have proposed such a condition without Tarentum’s approval. If we do not accept this, these talks are over.”

“Then let them be over!” Neanthis spat, his face flushed with anger. “The Lucanian threat is gone. We have no need to suffer Amendolara’s insolence!” The memory of how, just a year ago, the envoys of Amendolara had been bowing and scraping before them, compared to how they now dared to shout at a Thurian general, was an indignity he could not bear. “Damn that Tarentum!” he hissed. “We thought they were helping us in good faith, but they were scheming behind our backs all along!”

Anxitanos sighed. “But what choice do we have? We were defeated. A weak city-state will never be respected; that is the law of history. We have all received the intelligence: the Bruttians have ceased their war with Croton. And in the council at Croton, there is talk of ‘the issue of our unauthorized settlement on the ruins of old Sybaris.’ This is a threat we must take seriously. If they move against us, and we have a hostile Amendolara at our back, our position will be perilous. Furthermore, we all know the Lucanians are a vengeful people. We do not know when they will recover from this war, but when they do, they will invade again, and we, Thurii, will be the first in their path. Can we defeat them on our own? Will we not need the help of Amendolara?”

Anxitanos’s words filled the others with a deep sense of dread. Neanthis snorted several times but said nothing more.

“The crux of the matter,” Kunogelata said, calling their attention, “is whether or not Tarentum has ambitions on Thurii itself.” He then offered a careful analysis. “I do not believe they do. Otherwise, they would not have gone to such lengths to create the defensive league of Magna Graecia to fight the natives. If they were to make a move on us, cities like Croton and Siris would surely unite with us against them. The league would collapse, and years of their hard work would be for naught. And even if they did conquer us and install a puppet government, the cost would outweigh the gain. They would find themselves facing three powerful enemies: the Messapians to the southeast, the Lucanians to the northwest, and the Crotoniate alliance to the southwest. If the Lucanians or Croton were to attack, Tarentum, as the new ‘mother city,’ would not be able to get away with simply sending a thousand or two men as a token force. Therefore, I believe Tarentum is doing this for one reason only: a petty revenge for our past victories against them. Our ancestors, in the few short years after founding our city, made Thurii one of the great powers of Magna Graecia. If we can endure this humiliation for now and work together, I am certain we can restore Thurii to its former glory in a short time. And the shame that Amendolara and Tarentum have inflicted upon us today, we will one day repay in full, just as our forefathers did!”

“Lord Kunogelata is right!” The general’s words had rekindled their spirits and restored their confidence. When they returned to the negotiating table, the Thurians readily accepted Amendolara’s first condition.

Davos looked at Kunogelata across the table. He knew that this grim-faced old man had played a decisive role.

At that moment, Antonios rose again. “In early April,” he began, “our Archon Davos signed a contract of employment with Thurii. The main provision was to ‘assist Thurii in defending against and repelling the Lucanians’ for a term of six months. During this period, regardless of whether the mission was completed, Thurii was to pay the mercenaries a regular salary and a certain quantity of grain. This is the original contract.”

Antonios passed the parchment scroll to Anxitanos. “According to the terms of the agreement, even though the Lucanians have been repelled, Thurii must continue to pay the salary and provide the rations, and the army will, in turn, continue to fulfill its obligation to ‘defend Thurii until the six-month term is complete.’ The time has come for you to make your payment.”

Kunogelata nodded, about to reply, when Neanthis leaped to his feet.

“Thurii has no intention of honoring this contract!” he declared.

His statement caused an uproar, not only among the Amendolaran delegation but among his own as well. They had discussed this very issue before leaving. The consensus had been to continue the contract, because with Davos now the Archon of Amendolara, hiring him was tantamount to hiring his entire city. It was a way to salvage their wounded pride, and more importantly, with their own strength so depleted, they desperately needed Davos’s battle-hardened army to protect them while they recovered. Neanthis himself had objected at the time, citing an empty treasury, but Kunogelata had persuaded him. Now, at this critical moment, he had gone back on his word, catching his own delegation completely off guard.

Under Kunogelata’s icy glare, Neanthis flinched and quickly looked away. Cornered by his own impulsive outburst, he pressed on, his voice strained. “First, the party Thurii contracted with was a mercenary army. That army has now become the citizenry of Amendolara. The legal identity of one of the contracting parties has changed. To hire the citizen army of another city-state involves far more complex interests and procedures than can be covered by this simple contract. Second, you will note that the name signed at the bottom of this contract is that of General Pheresus. It was he who tasked Burkos with recruiting the mercenaries. When the contract was brought back to Thurii, most of the generals objected to its terms. It was Pheresus who, in his capacity as First General, forced it through, because he said he would personally be responsible for raising half of the funds. That is why his name alone is on it. And now, he and almost his entire family have died on the battlefield, so…”

“Bah!” Stromboli spat. “The Thurians are not only selfish, but faithless and shameless as well! You would even slander the name of an old man who died fighting for your city!” His curse was a catharsis for the Amendolarans and a source of deep shame for the Thurians.

Davos saw Kunogelata urgently whispering with Anxitanos. He quickly caught Marigi’s eye. The Persian immediately stood. “We accept your proposal,” he said, his voice dripping with a false magnanimity. “We will void the employment contract. Not because of your explanation, but because we would not wish for Thurii to levy special taxes on its people and add to their suffering, all on account of an empty treasury. After all, Amendolara and Thurii were allies for many years.”

The Amendolarans, including Stromboli, all assumed solemn expressions, which only deepened the Thurians’ shame. Kunogelata shot a cold look at Neanthis, who now felt no sense of victory in his successful argument.

“Amendolara and Thurii must not only defend against common enemies,” Marigi continued smoothly, “but we must also strengthen our cooperation in trade…” He went on to eloquently present the commercial terms they had discussed with Davos.

The Thurians, overwhelmed with guilt, agreed to most of the clauses. It was partly a matter of conscience, but some of the terms were also genuinely beneficial to them. For years, the port of Thurii had been choked with a massive population of freemen, foreign merchants, and sailors, leading to overcrowding, a shortage of housing, and soaring prices, which had caused a great deal of resentment. Matters had been made worse when, in a desperate bid for manpower before the battle with the Lucanians, the city had promised citizenship to any freeman who would fight, only to renege on that promise after their disastrous defeat. The freemen who had survived now demanded that Thurii honor its word, but the city’s leadership argued that since the final victory had been won by the mercenaries and the Tarentines, the freemen had no claim.

This refusal had created a tense, volatile atmosphere in the port district. Brawls and riots were becoming more frequent. The city had been forced to increase its patrols, but with their own citizen body now reduced to just over three thousand men, they were vastly outnumbered by the freemen. A full-blown riot would be a catastrophe. Amendolara’s plan to build warehouses and inns would help to disperse this dangerous population, relieving the pressure on Thurii.

In the end, the two sides reached an agreement, but the treaty was not yet signed. Out of respect for Tarentum, Amendolara stipulated that the articles of the treaty must first be sent to the archons and Senate of Tarentum for review. Only after confirming that the treaty did not harm Tarentum’s interests would the final signing take place.