Argosy of Blood, Chapter 4

They enter the tower and confront Xim and Amen. Xim reveals that the King of Kusan's son has betrayed and killed his father the king and that their mission to return the tablets is now moot. He offers to hire all six for the rest of his journey: to take the tablets to the lost Atlantean colony of Nyog far in the Western Ocean to perform a ritual to avert a coming cataclysm. He has hired two ships from Amen for the journey. Prospero finds Apollonia in the dungeon of Amen and frees her. Apollonia's secret mission was actually a trap set by Amen to capture her. (there's a whole big side-story going on with Apollonia, Amen, Prospero, the town of Messantia, and others, that I can't get into here).

The team decide to band together to form a formal mercenary company and work for Xim. They will accompany Xim's fleet of two ships on Apollonia's ship, the Helios. That way, if things turn on them, they can escape in their own ship.

To Be Continued...