Tansy takes the time on the ferry to update her journal so far, ocassionally sharing pretty sights with the Graf or her maid. "To think that Atlantis was once here somewhere." As they disembark, she shakes her head. "Not yet. Perhaps you could hire us a taxi as conveyance? Once done, I can arrange with the concierge to make arrangements for the flight tomorrow."

 

Gerhard looks around for a likely looking taxi, preferably one whose driver speaks a language he understands.  If he finds one, he directs him to the first hotel on the list.

 

A taxi with an English-speaking driver is located with only minor difficulty. He indeed knows of the location of the hotel in question and takes the three of you readily, and for not too outrageous a fare either. It's a short trip, without baggage walkable, though possibly not for Tansy.

 

The front desk has two rooms available, adjoining.

 

"Perfect," says Gerhard quietly to Tansy. He deals with the financial matters, asks about tea (immediately) and dinner, and asks about plane service to Cairo the next day.

 

Once that is settled, he suggests to Tansy that they examine more newspapers for possible clues either before, or after tea.

 

"I have to arrange for Elizabeth's ticket quickly, but I'll meet you in the lounge, Gerhard. If possible, could you enquire whether there is a sports hunting shop around here somewhere?" Tansy, still stiff from the ride, makes for the concierge on her own, arranging for her maid's ticket to England before they disappear upstairs, likely to make sure only the necessities are packed in a satchel.

 

From Athens she'll be able to catch an airplane to England in the morning with the non-essentials in the baggage.

 

Sport hunting isn't readily available on the waterfront, but a number of less reputable shops do have a variety of weapons. The quality is fair to poor, and the prices reasonable to excessive.

 

Gerhard leaves his luggage in his room, then notes down the concierge's information on weapon shops while waiting for Tansy.  If possible, he wants to do that errand while it is still light, rather than wandering the waterfront of a strange city after dark.

 

As you landed at the end of sunset at the docks, it is full dark by now. Perhaps morning would be a better time.

 

Looking out the window, Gerhard thinks they should wait until tomorrow to shop on the waterfront, and hopes that Tansy did not schedule their flight too early.

 

Tansy returns after having arranged their plane tickets, and makes for the newspapers, intent on getting news that's a bit more fresh.

 

The Italians seem to have an issue with western Ethiopia. While the southern half is firmly under control, the inland areas to the north, around Lake Tana is seeing unreast and fighting all out of proportion to the population. This started some months ago, and near daily rioting has been the norm since.

 

Your travels, to date...

 

Tansy nudged the paper over to Gerhard. "Take a look at that."

 

Gerhard admires the beautiful map.

 

"So," he says, "Are we flying to Cairo, or Alexandria?"

 

He tries to identify Western Ethiopia and Lake Tana on the map.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tansy peers closely at the map as well. "Cairo, then Khartoum, then Gonder, if they have an airstrip in such a small place. They should; Lake Tana is incredibly important to the country, not only in terms of fishing, but archaeologically speaking. Daga Island has any number of tombs, and it's been identified as the source of the Blue Nile." Reading a lot helps. She looks sideways at Gerhard. "The area's very unstable though, and we'll stand out. Also, have you heard of Haile Selassie before?"

 

Gerhard shakes his head.  "No. Where is it?"  He peers at the map again.  "I do not mind standing out, but this journey looks as if it may involve hardships.  If we have to go on safari ..." he hesitates, looking doubtfully at Tansy.  "Do you think we can hire a vehicle once we are near our destination?"

 

The woman sighs. "Haile Selassie I is a name the emperor of Ethiopia took. His full title since taking the throne is 'His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie I, Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah, King of Kings of Ethiopia and Elect of God'. You see, they believe that the Ethiopian lineage comes from King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba." One hand lifts so that she can rub at a kneecap. "The old name for that part of the world is Axum. One of the islands in Lake Tana is rumoured to have held the Ark of the Covenant before it got transferred deeper into Axum. So we're not only going into a warzone, it might be classified as a religious warzone, and with the Italians in the area as well, it's ... not quite a healthy area. Added to that, my Amharic is limited to asking where the bathroom is."

 

As he reminds her of the hardships, she frowns slightly. "My legs are afflicted, not the rest of me. If we manage to get horses or, as you said, a vehicle, I will be fine. If not, this will be a little problematic. I refuse to give up though."

 

Gerhard smiles wryly.  "I would prefer a vehicle," he says, "since I have not ridden a horse since I was about twelve years old."

 

Tansy blinks at Gerhard, then bursts out with unrestrained laughter. "A vehicle it is then," she grins. "But something to eat and a night's sleep first, perhaps. I'm hungry enough to wrestle with a camel."

 

"I did not see any camels on the bill of fare," he replies with a perfectly straight face -- for a few moments.  Then a smile, imperfectly hidden, curves one corner of his mouth as he offers Tansy his arm to go to the hotel's dining room.

 

After the dinner, Tansy will try to get the concierge to arrange the trip for them. Then it's off to sleep.

 

While this isn't the highest end hotel in Athens by a long stretch, the concierge does manage two tickets to Cairo, albeit with a stopover in Crete, leaving at noon tomorrow. Dinner was nothing exciting to write home about, and the hotel rooms are functional, if not embellished to the degree you might expect from Greece. All in all, Greece is a bit of a letdown to the senses after Turkey, or it might just be the aftermath of the last days catching up to you.

 

Gerhard suggests an early wake-up call so that there is time to look for a bow for Tansy before the flight.

 

Morning dawns cool and crisp with a strong breeze blowing in off the sea. Breakfast is an uninspired affair taken in a hurry to see Tansy's maid off with the luggage. After her departure, two shops in the area can be looked at, and one, a fishing tackle place of all things, has a bow fishing setup. Special ordered months ago by a visiting tourist and never collected.

 

Gerhard asks the price of this peculiar item.

 

He's asking 2,000 Drachmae, or about 10 Pounds Sterling. A considerable sum, but a fair bit less than a firearm. He also has a quiver and arrows, those will all go for under a Pound. 

 

Since it is Tansy who will have to use the weapon, Gerhard looks at her inquiringly.  He also says out of the corner of his mouth, "Should we haggle? Can we haggle?"

 

Tansy looks over the bow and, if possible, tests the draw on it to see if it's suited for her. "That's not exactly something they teach in finishing school," she replies to Gerhard in German, trying to keep it sotto voce. "I wouldn't know how to start if it was to save my life."

 

Gerhard shrugs deliberately, says to Tansy in German  "I will try," and then turns to the proprietor and offers him 1,000 drachmae.

 

The proprietor replies in his broken English something about how you are insulting his family name and bankrupting him and demands no less than 1,800 and at that he'll still go hungry.

 

Gerhard retorts that if he pays more than 1,500 he will risk leaving himself and his kinswoman destitute in a foreign land, and points out further that no one else has purchased the item yet and they may be the only buyers he will see for a long time.

 

And at 1,600 he'll never trust another tourist, but he'll have no choice as it is true, no one fishes with bows in Greece. 

 

Gerhard reluctantly admits that he could go as high as that, if the proprietor threw in the quiver and arrows too.

 

Now that Tansy has her bow, arrows and quiver, time to catch your flight.  

 

The day warms up quickly despite the advance of the year, and the flight to Cairo over the Mediteranean is quickly dull, though Crete shows off beautiful beaches and waters as you take off and land there.

 

Cairo, a bit inland from the Nile Delta, feels quite hot as you disembark, and there is still almost a thousand miles left to go toward the equator.

 

Gerhard's first action is to look for a taxi to a decent hotel.

 

Tansy delicately snaps open her parasol and holds it over her with a sigh of relief. "I'll go and enquire about tickets to Khartoum," she tells her companion and ambles off to do so whilst he goes to locate a taxi.

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