'You have news of Hellas?' Menedemos shouted back. The pirate captain nodded, which proved him an Epeirote or something of the sort - Macedonians dipped their heads like proper Hellenes. Menedemos went on, 'I'll trade what what I know for what you do. I won't give it away.' 'All right,' the other captain called. 'I tell you, Polyperkhon still has Corinth and the isthmus and Sikyon to the west, and he's made friends with the Aitolians north of the Gulf of Corinth.' That was worth knowing. Menedemos spoke of Agathokles' dash to Africa, with the Carthaginian fleet on his heels. 'I don't know how long he'll be fighting there, but the war between Carthage and Syracuse won't be the same any more.' 'You're right about that, trader,' the pirate agreed. 'I tell you, too, Polyperkhon has from Pergamon the youngster called Herakles, the son of Alexander the Great and Barsine. He says he will make the youth king of Macedonia.' 'He's not really Alexander's son,' Sostratos said quietly. 'He's just a pretender Antigonos raised up . . . I think.' 'I know that - I've heard the same stories you have,' Menedemos answered. 'But whoever he really is, he's plenty to make Kassandros pitch a fit in Macedonia.' 'Well, yes,' Sostratos said. 'When you think about what Kassandros did to Alexandros and Roxane, you know he doesn't want any heirs to the Macedonian throne running around loose. They hurt his own position.' 'What's Polemaios doing?' Menedemos called to the pirate. 'He's still down in the south of the Peloponnesos,' the fellow answered. 'If that was me, I wouldn't go anyplace Antigonos could get his hands on me. If Old One-Eye caught his nephew now, I bet he'd keep him alive for months.' 'You're probably right,' Menedemos said. 'Speaking of Antigonos, what do you know about the war between him and Ptolemaios?' 'Not a thing,' the pirate said, shrugging. 'Who gives a fart what happens way over in the east?' He seemed suddenly bored with talking instead of plundering, and shouted orders to his crew. The hemiolia glided south, looking for prey easier than the Aphrodite. 'Which way will you go?' Sostratos asked. 'Over in Corinth, Polyperkhon's got trouble with Kassandros and Polemaios both,' Menedemos said. 'That makes Cape Tainaron a better bet, I think.' Sostratos clicked his tongue between his teeth, but didn't try to tell him he was wrong. 12 'Telos behind us at last,' Sostratos said. His cousin made a face at him, for the Aegean island's name sounded nearly the same as the word for at last. Grinning at Menedemos, he pointed eastward. 'And there's Rhodes ahead.' 'A good thing, too,' Menedemos said. 'No guessing how much longer decent sailing weather will hold.'
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