Authors: Sam Barone
“Don’t you want to know who gave this gold to me? Or why?”
“I already know, Sisuthros, even before we left Orak. That’s why I selected you to come with me. Caldor isn’t very careful with his words.
Nicar’s whelp should keep his mouth shut.”
Sisuthros’s eyes widened in astonishment. Esk kar remembered Trella’s words—always act as if you know more than you’re saying. “Who else of the nobles approached you?”
“Nestor. I was in the tavern one night, and they bought wine, then we went for a walk. They said you were no longer needed, that others could take over now that the preparation was well begun. They worry you will have too much power and will turn on them once the barbarians are gone.
That is, Nestor fears that. Caldor hates you for some other reason. His anger is strong, Esk kar.”
“It’s because of Trella. He’s insulted that she’s quicker in her wits than he, and that she’s listened to by the Families. He wanted her when she was in Nicar’s house. Now he wants me dead to have her for himself. He cares nothing about the future of Orak, and he’s too stupid to see he might be destroying someone who could save his life.”
“Trella befriended my wife and watched over my child.” Sisuthros’s voice hardened as he caught the drift of Esk kar’s words. “I didn’t know he lusted after her. You’re right, he is a fool.”
The young man stood there for a moment. “And I’m a fool as well. You saved my life in the battle, Esk kar. If you knew of this, why did you do so?
You could have let the barbarian kill me.”
“I saved your life because you’re a good man with sharp wits, and because I need you to help defend Orak. But you’ve much to learn. They would never let you live even if I were killed. No matter what they promised, you’re too young to command so many men, and I doubt you would have seen any more gold. The nobles want no strong captain of the guard who might have opinions of his own. Why do you think they put up with Ariamus all these years? Because he was greedy, and they knew they could control him through his greed. Nestor’s just an old fool who doesn’t realize the barbarians will return, even stronger than they are now.”
Esk kar laughed. “Or maybe I saved your life because I didn’t have time to think about it. I would’ve done the same for any of my men, as would you.”
“I’m not sure what I would have done in your place. I … took the gold.”
“And what were you going to do?” Esk kar’s voice hardened. “Kill me in front of the men? Challenge me to a fight? Or murder me in my sleep? You had plenty of chances, and it’s still a long way to Orak.”
“I don’t know what I wanted! I didn’t want to do anything. I wish I’d never taken the gold. But I did. Perhaps I am not the man you think I am.”
He heard the anguish in Sisuthros’s words. “Then become the man you should be.” Esk kar gripped Sisuthros’s shoulder. “Forget the gold. Look at these barbarians. They’ll slit each other’s throats over a woman or an insult. But in battle, they die for their comrades because that’s the code of the warrior. You are a warrior, Sisuthros, but if you deal with merchants and shopkeepers on their terms, then that is what you will become.”
Sisuthros stared at the ground. “I’m not worthy to be under your command.” His voice choked with emotion. “You’ve treated me fairly, promoted me, and I nearly betrayed you. Even these strange barbarians respect you.”
“And what do you want now? Do you want me to hate you? No, I think I’ll give you more responsibility because you’ve earned it, earned it by what you did yesterday when you followed me into the canyon, though I saw in your eyes you thought we rode to our death. But you will earn more honors by what you do from now on. And when this is over, there’s even more that will be asked of you, and greater rewards to be had.”
“You would reward me after what I’ve done?”
“Done? You haven’t done anything except listen to a young fool and an old fool in a tavern. You’re not a murderer, Sisuthros.” He moved closer.
“Listen to me. When this is over, we’ll have to rebuild the countryside.
You’ll be a ruler in a village of your own, and we’ll fight the next wave of barbarians together. Forget about Caldor and Nestor. They don’t understand what’s at stake here.”
“I’ll kill Caldor and Nestor then.” Sisuthros’s voice was hard again. “I’ll throw the gold in their faces and kill them.”
“Nestor is nothing. But killing Caldor would give me great pleasure.
But not yet, because we …” A call from the campfire interrupted him, and Esk kar turned toward the firelight to see Mesilim coming toward them.
“We’ll talk more of this later, Sisuthros. But remember, you showed great courage yesterday, and we fought together against great odds. That’s more important than gold.” Esk kar stepped back to his men’s fire circle to receive the Ur Nammu chieftain.
“Chief Esk kar,” Mesilim began formally, his voice loud and clear in the night. “I’ve met with the elders of the clan. We’ve agreed to join you in your fight and help you defeat the Alur Meriki. Tomorrow we will begin our preparations.”
Mesilim extended his arm, and Esk kar clasped his hand around the chieftain’s forearm. They had sealed the bargain publicly and according to custom. Now their fates intertwined, at least for the next battle.
“I must go and tell the rest of my warriors.” Mesilim turned away and returned to his own campfire.
Shouts of joy mixed with battle cries greeted the news, as Mesilim’s men learned they had both a chance to live and an opportunity to regain some of what they’d lost.
The Shan Kar will be satisfied, Esk kar thought later, as he settled in for sleep, wishing he had some wine to numb the pain that throbbed in his thigh. I’ve gained an ally not only for the battle across the river, but perhaps for the future, should I need to keep the villagers in check. And Sisuthros will be loyal, at least for now. Trella will be pleased, he thought, and he drifted off to sleep with her face in his dreams.
Ten days later just before sunset, Esk kar and his weary band of riders topped the last hill and saw the village of Orak. After spending three days resting with the Ur Nammu, they had all ridden hard in a northerly circle to throw any pursuers off their trail. Then the two groups had split up, with the Ur Nammu turning toward the mountains.
The well - rested Ur Nammu clan would travel quickly and leave a plain trail, like men who had enough of hard fighting and only wanted to escape. They would ride far to the east, wait a week or ten days, then return to monitor the progress of the Alur Meriki. With luck, they’d slip back through the lines before the barbarians closed them tight around Orak.
Meanwhile Esk kar and his band headed back to the west, riding as hard as they dared but always favoring the horses. During the journey Esk kar spoke often with Sisuthros. They would ride side by side, letting the others stay ahead. After a few such conversations, Esk kar felt his subcommander had acquired a new respect for his captain and the difficulties they all faced.
Even from afar Esk kar saw the wall had grown. The eastern side, the one that would bear the brunt of the attack, had been completed, as had the great wooden gate, already blackened by fire to harden it and make it resistant to flames. On each side of the gate, towers rose up even higher to protect the entrance.
As Esk kar and his men drew closer, someone recognized them. Even at that distance, Esk kar could hear the roar of welcome that steadily increased in volume. Men and women began pouring out of the gate, some running toward them, a few claiming vantage spots on the roadway, while others stood shoulder to shoulder atop the new wall.
At the outskirts of the village, he turned to his men. “Mitrac, you go first, then I’ll follow. And try to look like fighting men instead of tired old women for a change.”
The men laughed as he knew they would. He could call them anything now. During their time with the Ur Nammu, Esk kar had thought about what else he could do to strengthen their bond to him, and an idea had occurred to him. He would form a new clan. Not a clan of men related by blood, but a clan of arms.
He had spoken of it while they rested with the Ur Nammu, and all the men had eagerly accepted the idea. Most had no kin or close friends, and this new clan would give them a brotherhood to make up for what they lacked. They’d have something greater than themselves to belong to, and they’d share a bond of allegiance to their new brothers.
So they had sworn a great oath of loyalty, first to each other and then to Esk kar. Afterward Zantar took needle and black thread and stitched a crude outline of a hawk on each of their tunics. The hawk represented both strength and fierceness. Esk kar’s Hawk Clan was born, resurrecting the symbol of his father’s clan in the Alur Meriki.
Now they returned as true warriors, proven in battle and united in a clan of honor. Each man sat a little straighter on his mount, ignoring his wounds and aches. Mitrac carried his bow upright, a thin strip of leather with fourteen thumb bones hanging from its tip. Esk kar had eight bones dangling from his sword belt, and the rest carried their bones in a similar fashion.
They walked the horses the last hundred paces, unable to move any faster because of the crowd. Riding at the rear was Tammuz. The boy had surprised them all by surviving his wounds. Though he still grimaced in pain from his arm, he sat proudly on his mount, though Maldar held the halter. Tammuz carried the small bow in his good hand, displaying his single trophy.
Esk kar’s eyes searched the crowd until he spotted Trella waiting just outside the gate, a smile on her normally reserved features. Her guard stood behind her, and nobody in the crowd dared to push in front of her.
Seeing her brought a grin to his face, and as he rode through the gate, he reached down and pulled her up to sit sideways in front of him. The crowd laughed and cheered even louder as her arm went around his neck.
“Well, girl, I’ve returned, and I’ve much to tell.” She could scarcely hear him over the noise. The villagers continued to call his name, and the skittish horses began to flatten their ears at the growing crowd.
The men dismounted and walked the horses to Esk kar’s house. The crowd followed behind, still shouting with as much enthusiasm as if the barbarians had already been defeated. Arriving home, Esk kar ordered that Tammuz be carried inside. Annok - sur sent one of the women to fetch a healer.
Esk kar went to the well and took advantage of his first opportunity to clean himself properly in over three weeks. A servant brought clean clothes, but Esk kar only donned them after he’d scrubbed as much of the horse scent from his body as he could.
Maldar remained at Esk kar’s house. The men chose Maldar as custo-dian for their loot, to be stored in Esk kar’s chambers until they called for it. None of them ever had so much of value before, and they didn’t know what to do with it. No one felt comfortable carrying all that gold on their persons. They approached Esk kar and asked him to guard it for them.
The idea of holding gold for others made him uncomfortable, but he agreed his house was a safer place for their money than leaving it in the barracks. They decided Maldar and one other of the Hawk Clan would inspect the valuables once a week to make sure they remained safe. Each man took only what he needed for a few days of wine, women, and gambling.
Alone in their rooms Esk kar took Trella in his arms and squeezed her tightly. He stroked her hair and felt happy just to hold her. The feel of her body aroused him, and he would have taken her, but the summons had already come from Nicar. Reluctantly he let her go.
Later Esk kar, Trella, and Sisuthros sat down at Nicar’s crowded table with all the Families and their important followers present. A feast had been declared for all. Villagers shouted and sang in the streets, gladdened by Esk kar’s return and a chance to celebrate.
Nicar served his finest wine, but Esk kar took only a single cup. When he’d drunk half of it, he refilled it with water. Wine no longer tempted him. Esk kar didn’t want his wits dulled by wine. He did eat, enjoying the fresh bread and chicken Nicar’s servants provided.
When he described the battle, not a sound could be heard, and he had to repeat the story, adding more details. Sisuthros told part of the tale, filling in the fight as he’d seen it, and telling of Esk kar’s exploits.
Their faces registered shock at what he’d done. That Esk kar would risk his life to help another tribe of barbarians seemed incredible. Nevertheless they rejoiced to hear that, together, they’d wiped out seventy Alur Meriki.
“The Ur Nammu will be of great use to us,” Esk kar said, ignoring the skeptical looks. “We’ll meet them again, and they’ll keep track of the main force for us.”
More questions kept coming, and Esk kar encouraged Sisuthros to answer several, while he studied the faces of Caldor and Nestor. The old man just smiled, revealing no emotion.
But young Caldor did not repress an occasional flash of anger, though he kept silent. No doubt he wondered what his gold had purchased.
You
will be dead soon, Caldor, like Drigo’s whelp, and this time it will give me much more
pleasure.
Finally Esk kar had a question of his own.
“Corio, I see the east wall is complete. How goes the rest of the work?”
The new walls were not laid out strictly according to the compass. The east side, where the wall stood highest and where the main attack would come, actually faced southeast, toward the crossroad where the two main roads met to form a single track that led to the gate.
“You’ve been gone three weeks,” Corio said. “In that time, we’ve made good progress, and are ahead of schedule, mostly due to the numbers of new men willing to bend their backs to avoid the barbarians. The entire wall will be finished in less than three weeks, and the river sluices and canals have been widened and are ready for release. We can let loose the water and begin to flood the plains in less than one hour.”
Esk kar turned toward Gatus and Jalen. “And the men? How goes their training?”
“Sixty men finish training this week, and another seventy will start.”