'Stranger things have happened.' I spoke with care. Helena was watching me thoughtfully. 'The East is a lively arena at present. People are talking about the place all the time. Since Jerusalem was captured, the whole area is opening up for expansion.'
'So that's it!' Helena muttered. 'I knew you were up to something again.'
Thalia looked surprised. 'You're really going to Syria?'
'Somewhere close, possibly. Proposals have been whispered in my direction.' For a moment it had seemed easier to break the news to Helena with a witness who was strong enough to prevent me from being beaten up. Like most of my good ideas, I was rapidly losing faith in this one.
ACT ONE: NABATAEA
About a month later. The scene is set initially in Petra, a remote city in the desert. Dramatic mountains dominate on either side. Then on rapidly to Bostra.
SYNOPSIS: Falco, an adventurer, and Helena, a rash young woman, arrive in a strange city disguised as curious travellers. They are unaware that Anacrites, a jealous enemy, has transmitted news of their visit to the one man they need to avoid. When an unpleasant accident befalls Heliodorus, a theatrical hack, their help is enlisted by Chremes, an actor-producer, but by then everyone is looking nervously for a quick camel ride out of town.
Chapter V
We had been following the two men all the way to the High Place. From time to time we heard their voices ringing off the rocks up ahead of us. They were talking in occasional short sentences, like acquaintances who kept the politeness going. Not lost in a deep conversation, not angry, but not strangers either. Strangers would have either walked along in silence or made more of a sustained effort.