He was at the table at the second hour.
The framework document was in front of him — what he had started the night before, the structure of Paris's western journey written in the precise language of operational planning. He read it back in the morning light.
Four points.
First: the objective. Not open exploration — a specific target. The Argolid king and his calculation. Understand the nature and depth of his reservations. Identify what an alternative would need to look like from his perspective. Nothing else.
Second: the cover. Commercial, legitimate, rooted in the coastal freight correspondence. Ampelos's contacts providing the introductions. No diplomatic dimension visible.
Third: the return. A fixed date. Six weeks from departure. Not negotiable. If the situation required more time, Paris returned and reported and a second journey was discussed separately.
