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of the deceased. For the megas doux, reporting such things through certain of his most trusted men to the father of his son-in-law Andronikos in Pherai, and while that man was conversing with Hrelja, who was staying around Melenikon, and through him was receiving the Kral's replies, the megas doux again inquired about what he needed, and again replied with whatever was in accordance with his opinion. And the Kral truly affirmed to the emperor Kantakouzenos that the demand of the megas doux was of such a nature, and he deliberated on what he ought to reply to these things, and the emperor advised not to hinder, but rather to cooperate, so that the envy of Apokaukos towards him might become more apparent, and that he was waging the civil war not out of goodwill towards the empress and the emperor her son, but to secure for himself the leadership of the Romans by every means. So the Kral, along with the emperor Kantakouzenos, came and encamped in the pits called Almyroi and awaited the landing of the megas doux 2.325 at Amphipolis, intending to meet with him there. And in Byzantium, the rest of the more noble and especially prominent men, having been accused of Kantakouzenism by the megas doux, were inhabiting prisons and were not unacquainted with any misfortune. As for those who had joined him in the war and had persuaded the empress that she was being plotted against by the emperor Kantakouzenos, some he was already moderately attacking and removing from their offices, providing a pretext for dissension against him, so that if he destroyed them, he would have no blame, as if he were not justly retaliating against them for having been malicious towards him; others he was about to. Seeing this and already having a grim expectation about the future, they realized that they had become the cause of great misfortunes for both themselves and for others, but they were not able to help themselves, as the megas doux had by now subjected everything to himself. And George Choumnos, the megas stratopedarches, being one of those who had started the war, approached the empress and gently found fault with the megas doux, for spending the public funds on nothing necessary and for fitting out fleets for a continental war that would be of no use. For against what will the fleet oppose Kantakouzenos, when he is with the Triballians and holds Didymoteichon, a city situated far from the sea? And he advised rather to refrain from such useless expenditures, and to proceed to some plan that would be beneficial for the whole situation. This was to make peace and a truce with Kanta 2.326 kouzenos, which would seem most advantageous. For the fact that, though so great a war has been waged against him and every effort has been put forth, we have been able to achieve nothing more, but that he remains unharmed by evils and still enjoys great favor with the ruler of the Triballians, and is preparing, as we hear, to return to Didymoteichon with an army, and that those in Didymoteichon have not slackened at all in their goodwill toward him, nor have they been pressured by the surrounding war, but rather are themselves more dangerous than Cerberus to all the cities throughout Thrace, utterly destroying and plundering everything, does not seem to me to be to our advantage nor will it end in any good outcome. Therefore it occurred to me also to advise making peace with him. For now, as he is an exile dwelling in a foreign land and in need of help from others, he would readily assent to peace, if we ask for moderate terms. But if he should be at home and should acquire some force, I fear that when we are in need he himself might refuse, as one already having firm hopes of overcoming us. And the empress said that his advice was reasonable, and that later they should do whatever seemed advantageous after common deliberation; but for the present, since the expense had already been incurred and the trierarchs had their pay, it was right for the sailing to take place. And these things were said by her, because the megas doux had promised that, if he sailed to Macedonia, he would bring Kantakouzenos as a prisoner, as the Kral promised to hand him over, 2.327 if he himself came to him; and because many of those loyal to the emperor Kantakouzenos already during the time of the war

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ἀποθανόντος. πρὸς γὰρ τὸν Ἀνδρονίκου τοῦ γαμβροῦ πατέρα ἐν Φεραῖς ὁ μέγας δοὺξ τὰ τοιαῦτα διά τινων τῶν μάλιστα εὐνουστάτων ἀπαγγέλλων, κἀκείνου Χρέλῃ διαλεγομένου περὶ Μελενίκον διατρίβοντι καὶ δι' ἐκείνου τὰς Κράλη λαμβάνοντος ἀπολογίας, αὖθις ὁ μέγας δοὺξ ἐπυνθάνετό τε περὶ ὧν ἐδεῖτο, καὶ ὅσα ἦν κατὰ γνώμην αὖθις ἀπεκρίνετο. Κράλης δὲ ὡς ἀληθῶς τοιαύτην διεβεβαιοῦτο πρὸς Καντακουζηνὸν τὸν βασιλέα τὴν μεγάλου δουκὸς ἀξίωσιν εἶναι, καὶ ἐβουλεύετο, ὅ,τι δέοι πρὸς ταῦτα ἀποκρίνεσθαι, βασιλεύς τε μὴ κωλύειν συνεβούλευεν, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον καὶ συμπράττειν, ἵνα μᾶλλον ὁ περὶ αὐτὸν Ἀποκαύκου φθόνος γίνοιτο φανερὸς, καὶ ὡς οὐκ εὐνοίᾳ τῇ πρὸς βασιλίδα καὶ βασιλέα τὸν υἱὸν τὸν ἐμφύλιον κινοίη πόλεμον, ἀλλ' αὐτῷ τὴν Ῥωμαίων ἐκ παντὸς τρόπου περιποιούμενος ἡγεμονίαν. Κράλης μὲν οὖν ἅμα βασιλεῖ τῷ Καντακουζηνῷ, ἐν τοῖς Ἀλμυροῖς προσαγορευομένοις λάκκοις ἐστρατοπεδεύετο ἐλθὼν καὶ περιέμενε τὸν εἰς Ἀμφίπολιν τοῦ μεγάλου δου 2.325 κὸς κατάπλουν ὡς ἐκεῖσε συνεσόμενος. ἐν Βυζαντίῳ δὲ οἱ μὲν ἄλλοι τῶν εὐγενεστέρων καὶ μάλιστα ἐν λόγῳ, Καντακουζηνισμὸν ὑπὸ μεγάλου δουκὸς ἐπικληθέντες, δεσμωτήριά τε ᾤκουν καὶ οὐδεμιᾶς ἀπείρατοι κακοπραγίας ἦσαν. τῶν δὲ αὐτῷ συναραμένων πρὸς τὸν πόλεμον καὶ πεπεικότων βασιλίδα, ὡς ἐπιβουλεύοιτο παρὰ Καντακουζηνοῦ τοῦ βασιλέως, τῶν μὲν ἤδη παρήπτετο μετρίως καὶ καθῄρει τῶν ἀρχῶν, ἀφορμὴν παρέχων τῆς πρὸς αὐτὸν διαφορᾶς, ἵν', εἰ διαφθείρειε, μηδεμίαν μέμψιν ἔχοι, ὡς οὐ δικαίως ἀμύνοιτο αὐτοὺς, κακοὺς περὶ αὐτὸν γεγενημένους· τῶν δὲ ἔμελλεν. ἃ συνορῶντες καὶ αὐτοὶ καὶ πονηρὰν περὶ τῶν μελλόντων ἤδη ἔχοντες ἐλπίδα, ᾐσθάνοντο μὲν, ὡς σφίσι τε αὐτοῖς καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις αἴτιοι κατέστησαν μεγάλων συμφορῶν, βοηθεῖν δὲ οὐκ εἶχον ἑαυτοῖς, πάντα ἤδη μεγάλου δουκὸς ὑφ' ἑαυτῷ πεποιημένου. Χοῦμνος δὲ Γεώργιος ὁ μέγας στρατοπεδάρχης, εἷς ὢν τῶν τὸν πόλεμον κεκινηκότων, βασιλίδι προσελθὼν, ἠρέμα κατεμέμφετο μεγάλῳ δουκὶ, ὡς εἰς οὐδὲν δέον τὰ κοινὰ καταναλίσκοντι καὶ πρὸς πόλεμον ἠπειρώτην στόλους ἐξαρτυομένῳ μηδὲν ὀνήσοντας. πρὸς τί γὰρ ὁ στόλος ἐναντιώσεται Καντακουζηνῷ, αὐτῷ τε παρὰ Τριβαλοῖς ὄντι καὶ ∆ιδυμότειχον κατέχοντι πόλιν μακρὰν θαλάσσης ᾠκισμένην; συνεβούλευέ τε μᾶλλον τῶν τοιούτων ἀπέχεσθαι ἀνονήτων δαπανῶν, πρός τινα δὲ χωρεῖν ἐπίνοιαν τοῖς ὅλοις πράγμασι συνοίσουσαν. τοῦτο δὲ εἶναι, εἰρήνην τίθεσθαι πρὸς Καντα 2.326 κουζηνὸν καὶ σπονδὰς, αἳ μάλιστα δόξειεν λυσιτελεῖν. τὸ γὰρ τοσούτου πολέμου πρὸς αὐτὸν κεκινημένου καὶ πάσης σπουδῆς εἰσενηνεγμένης, μηδὲν ἡμᾶς δυνηθῆναι πλέον, ἀλλ' ἐκεῖνόν τε ἀπαθῆ κακῶν καὶ πολλῆς εὐνοίας ἀπολαύοντα παρὰ τῷ Τριβαλῶν δυνάστῃ ἔτι διαμένειν, παρασκευαζόμενόν τε, ὡς ἀκούομεν, εἰς ∆ιδυμότειχον ἐπανήκειν μετὰ στρατιᾶς, τούς τε ἐν ∆ιδυμοτείχῳ μηδὲν ὑφεῖναι τῆς εἰς αὐτὸν εὐνοίας, μηδ' ὑπὸ τοῦ περιεστηκότος πολέμου πιεσθῆναι, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον αὐτοὺς ταῖς κατὰ Θρᾴκην πάσαις πόλεσι κερβέρων εἶναι χαλεπωτέρους, πάντα διαφθείροντας ἄρδην καὶ ληϊζομένους, οὐ πρὸς ἡμῶν ἔμοιγε εἶναι φαίνεται οὐδὲ πρός τι τέλος λήξειν ἀγαθόν. διό μοι καὶ παραινεῖν ἐπῆλθε, τίθεσθαι τὴν πρὸς αὐτὸν εἰρήνην. νῦν μὲν γὰρ ὑπερόριος ἐν ἀλλοτρίᾳ διατρίβων καὶ τῆς παρ' ἑτέρων δεόμενος ἐπικουρίας, ἑτοίμως ἂν ὑπακούσειε πρὸς τὴν εἰρήνην, εἰ μέτρια αἰτοίημεν. εἰ δ' οἴκοι τε γένοιτο καί τινος εὐπορήσειε δυνάμεως, δέδοικα, μὴ δεομένων ἡμῶν ἀπαναίνοιτο αὐτὸς, οἷα δὴ βεβαίας ἤδη τοῦ περιγενήσεσθαι ἡμῶν ἐλπίδας ἔχων. βασιλὶς δὲ λόγον μὲν ἔχοντα εἶπε παραινεῖν, καὶ ὕστερον ὅ,τι ἂν δοκῇ λυσιτελεῖν κοινῇ σκεψαμένους πράττειν· τὸ δὲ νῦν ἔχον, τῆς δαπάνης ἤδη γεγενημένης καὶ τὸν μισθὸν ἐχόντων τῶν τριηριτῶν, δίκαιον ποιεῖσθαι τὸν ἀπόπλουν. ταῦτα δὲ αὐτῇ εἴρηται, ὅτι τε ἐπηγγέλετο ὁ μέγας δοὺξ, εἰ πρὸς Μακεδονίαν ἀποπλεύσειε, Καντακουζηνὸν ἄξειν δεσμώτην, ὡς παραδώσειν 2.327 ἐπαγγελομένου Κράλη, εἰ πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀφίκοιτο αὐτός· καὶ ὅτι πολλῶν ἤδη τῶν πρὸς βασιλέα Καντακουζηνὸν ὑπὸ τῷ τοῦ πολέμου χρόνῳ