The Minoan Rhapsody

A Message

          King Minos was waist deep inside the waters of the Keiftu side of Knossos Harbor. The pink dolphins were giving him news from Egypt. He passed his hands on their pink skin, feeling scars and new wounds. "The sea is perilous," he told them. "Go rest and feed. You've earned it." He patted the dolphins who were quick to swim away. Minos smiled and walked out of the water towards Yidini and Siram who waited for him. "Let's go to the dry docks."

"Don't you want to get dry and change clothes?" Yidini asked.

"Not now. Siram," he called. "How many ships have we built since we started this campaign?"

"Eleven, my King."

"That's too few."

"We are going as fast as we can," Siram complained. "We are also running into some new problems."

"What is it?" King Minos asked dejected.

"Wood. We are using wood faster than it can be cut. You see, we are competing with the rebuilding of Knossos. Thus, the supply of wood is now a problem."

"Egypt is at war. They need more grain, salt and oil. Most of their crops were wasted in fires. We must set more ships to sail."

"We don't have more ships to sail. They go out as soon as we build them. Almost half our fleet is anchored at Knossos Harbor, serving as houses to the laborers."

The King sighed, irritated. "If we want Egypt's wealth to keep coming, we must fill their needs. If our shipyards can't keep up with the demand for ships, then we will have to buy them. If we need men, we will buy the crews also." Minos walked up to Siram and looked at him straight in the eye. "It is Egypt who is paying for the reconstruction of Knossos. We must expand our fleet or else, we'll go back to living underground."

"Yes, my King," Siram bowed.

They resumed their walk which followed the shore of the harbor to the western side of Knossos where the City yielded to the dry docks. The sounds of hammering and sawing, the stench of boiling tar and the organized ruckus of the boat builders flooded the senses. They entered a large single room building, where men and women were sewing sails.

"Kna!" King Minos called on a woman who turned around and walked up to him.

"My King."

"You both wait for me here," he instructed Yidini and Siram. "Show me a completed sail," he asked Kna.

King Minos and Kna talked for a while as they inspected a sail. The King moved his finger around, making figures in the air. He saw Kna kneel and do a couple of sketches on the dirt floor. He nodded and helped Kna stand up. They returned to Yidini and Siram. "Three," he reminded Kna. "Only three. The rest like we agreed."

"Yes, My King." Kna acknowledged and walked away.

"What was that all about?" Yidini asked.

"The dolphins told me of some instructions Aeëtes listed for a new way to mark a ship's port of origin. We must make such modifications to his three ships here at Knossos. I am implementing these modifications to our fleet as well." He turned to Siram. "We need to adjust our production strategy. Start making smaller vessels. Don't worry about cargo space. These ships will be used to travel to other shipyards and buy vessels and crew to the service of Khaptirus."

"What about the ships that are halfway built?"

"You said you were short on wood. Repurpose them. I've got to go see Daedalus. Aeëtes is getting restless and wants to know when will the wedding take place." The King frowned at Yidini. "What are you doing here anyways? Don't you have to take care of the laborers?"