Authors: Sam Barone
“No, Captain. There’s plenty of water at the farms, so they don’t need the river.”
Nor did they want to call anyone’s attention to it just yet, Esk kar thought. “Is there anything else?”
“Yes, Captain. Lady Trella will join you in a few hours. She crossed the river with me along with the barbar … the women and children that the warriors left behind. She said she wanted to get them out of Orak before the enemy prevented them from leaving.”
Trella on her way here! Well, a small group of men and women crossing the river should arouse no suspicions. It didn’t matter. He wouldn’t take any chances on this side of the river.
“Gatus! Start the men moving and pick up the pace. I’ll not have Trella walking through the countryside with a group of women. We keep moving until we find her.”
“Captain, she has four soldiers with her,” the messenger said hastily.
“Sisuthros wanted to send more, but she said it would attract too much attention.”
Four or forty made no difference. Esk kar wouldn’t rest until he saw her safely back in Orak. Climbing back on his horse, he led the way, moving at a quick trot that drew grumbling from the men as they struggled to get moving and keep up.
Once again Subutai rode beside him. “Perhaps I should ride ahead, Eskkar, to see to Trella’s safety.”
Esk kar appeared to think it over for a moment. “No, it’s better that you stay at my side. The men guarding Trella might be surprised if they saw warriors riding toward them.”
“I would be willing to take such a chance. We could call out to them, tell them who we are. Our women would recognize us.”
“No, I will not risk it. Stay here with me. We’ll meet up with them in another hour or two at most.”
“And if my horse suddenly broke into a run, what would you do?”
For the first time Esk kar turned to look carefully at the man at his side.
He regarded the new chief of the Ur Nammu closely for a few moments and chose his words before replying.
“In the village, Subutai, many men now cast their eyes at Trella, and I’m sure some of them would slit my throat if they thought that would help them get her. But that could never happen in Orak. The entire village would rise up and punish anyone who tried to take her by force.”
His voice hardened. “But out here, any man with a horse can take a captive, and I remember the saying of my clan: ‘Trust no man with your woman, especially your brother or your friend.’ Now the warrior in me sees danger everywhere, and I’ll take no chances with her safety.”
Subutai digested Esk kar’s words. “Put your fears at rest. I’ll ride with you until we meet up with them.” After a moment he added, “Though I think you have learned much wisdom from your woman.”
“She has many sayings, so many that sometimes my head turns. One of them is to always try to put yourself in another man’s place, to understand him from within. Sometimes it’s not an easy thing to do, but often it helps to understand a man.”
He turned toward the Ur Nammu chief again. “You’re now the leader of your people. But whether you’ll be a great ruler, only time will tell. But it might be a wise saying for you as well.”
They rode in silence for a hundred paces before Subutai spoke. “I did think about it, Esk kar. For a moment it was a great temptation. But I knew I would have to kill you first. After all you’ve done for my people, I’m content to seek her wisdom. But remember your instincts. Always keep a close watch on her.”
“That’s one lesson I’ve already learned. Now, let us talk about the future.”
The moon had not yet risen when they crested a small hill and saw two torches twinkling in the distance. A few moments later Trella’s party spotted them and waved their torches.
The men groaned in relief when they saw Trella’s group. They hadn’t stopped moving for the last three hours. Orak was close now, little more than another two or three hours at an easy pace. Trella had not traveled very far, burdened with the Ur Nammu women and children in addition to a great amount of supplies.
Esk kar galloped ahead as soon as he saw the torches. He jumped down from his horse and took her in his arms until she gasped for breath.
“You should not have left Orak. This was dangerous. You could’ve been attacked on the road. You haven’t even recovered from your wound.”
She looked at him in the flickering torchlight. “Orak is only a few miles behind us. But the ford may be blocked at any moment. I didn’t want to be alone on the other side of the river, away from you.”
“We will talk of this later. Now we must deal with Subutai. I hope you’ve more influence with him and his women than I.”
He told her about the battle in the valley, of Mesilim’s death, and Subutai’s plans. While they talked, Gatus and the men arrived. The soldiers built a small fire and a ring of soldiers formed around Esk kar and Trella.
The men drank the last of their water and rested. Esk kar told Trella what he thought about the new situation, then listened carefully to her replies.
They sent for Subutai. He’d been with his wife and daughter, listening to what the clan’s women had to say, examining the supplies and gifts Trella had given them. The supplies would make a great difference in how the Ur Nammu lived in the months ahead.
Esk kar moved back his guards so his men formed a wide circle, leaving himself and Trella in the center. Now Subutai and his men entered the circlet, bringing with them their women, though Esk kar knew this was not their custom. But these were highly unusual circumstances. With only five women for thirty men, these wives would command a greater say in their fates.
Esk kar watched Subutai as he regarded Trella, who sat on part of a fallen tree one of the soldiers had dragged up for her. How she managed it, Esk kar didn’t know, but she appeared both regal and desirable even in her rough travel dress. Maybe it was the combination of the firelight on her face, while two torches burned behind her. She had an indisputable presence, one she’d become well aware of and worked hard to enhance.
When the Ur Nammu were seated, the women behind the men, Esk kar began. “Our two peoples have fought together against their common enemy not once, but twice, and we’ve defeated them both times. Now Subutai will take his people back to their homelands, north of the river Enratus.
When the Alur Meriki are defeated and driven from Orak, our people will stay to the south. In that way, our two peoples can live in peace.”
Esk kar gestured toward Trella. “Trella and I have offered to help Chief Subutai in any way we can.” He turned to Subutai, who had to speak next.
“Lady Trella,” Subutai began, adopting the phrase Esk kar used, “We thank you for your help with our women and children. You’ve given us many gifts of food and clothing, as well as tools and healing medicines.
We’re embarrassed we have nothing to give you in return. Now we are too few to fight against the Alur Meriki. Yet we know you are wise, and so my people ask you for your wisdom.”
Esk kar guessed that Subutai doubted she had any wisdom for him. But Trella had planted the seeds with the womenfolk even before they left the village, and no doubt that had been part of the quiet discussions between Subutai and his people moments ago.
“It is we who are in your debt, Chief Subutai.” Trella’s soft voice floated on the night air like music from a lute, and not a sound was heard around the circle except for the crackling of the fires and the whispers of the translators as everyone strained to catch her words.
“Without your help, there would have been no victory two days ago, and the Alur Meriki would now have a strong force behind Orak. But a great challenge stands before you—the need to return to your homelands and rebuild your people. It is something that you must do quickly, else you fall victim to some larger clan. You’ll need more wives for your men to give you many children, and you’ll need tools and food before you can stand on your own again. It may be that Esk kar and I can help you with these things.”
Esk kar smiled inwardly at the box Trella had placed Subutai in. She offered him a way to rebuild his people, but he’d have to ask for it, and that would place him in her debt. If he turned it down, some of his men would begin to doubt his leadership, especially if her ideas had merit.
Subutai worked it out quickly enough. He had to ask, then examine her suggestions seriously. “Lady Trella, if you have any thoughts that can help my people, we ask for them.”
“Nothing is certain, Chief Subutai,” Trella answered. “We face a great battle against your own enemy, and it may be that we will not survive. But if we do, and if the Alur Meriki are driven off, then the lands that they have passed through will be filled with chaos and confusion. There will be many masterless and landless men who’ll kill and destroy whatever little has survived the Alur Meriki. Even among your kind, there will be many steppes clans wandering these lands. They’ll fight each other as well as the soldiers Orak will send out into the countryside to protect our farmers and herders. Even now, several small bands of steppes people are on the west bank of the Tigris, moving north, avoiding the Alur Meriki while they take whatever they can.”
Esk kar watched Subutai as he listened to Trella’s words. So far she’d said nothing unexpected.
“If you wish,” Trella continued, “we can speak to these small bands, or you can ride south and seek them yourself. Gather them together into a new clan within your own land, with a truce between your people and the men of the villages and farms. With supplies and trade goods from Orak, life in the northern lands could be easier. Orak would give you gold, and you would need only to watch the mountains and send us word of any dangers. You could trade for anything else you needed. All we would ask is that you raid no lands south of the Enratus.”
Esk kar saw Subutai thinking it over, the same way Esk kar had when Trella proposed it. The havoc caused by the Alur Meriki had created many bands of homeless men. By absorbing them, one band at a time, perhaps a new tribe could be built in months rather than in years.
“We would still need women as wives for our men, Lady Trella. These will not be so easy to find, and without them the true Ur Nammu will diminish.”
“My husband has told you of a way to obtain many women by taking them from the Alur Meriki at the height of their attack on us. They’ll be distracted and you can capture as many as you like.”
“Even if the Alur Meriki are defeated before your walls, they’ll give chase to anyone who raids their women.” Subutai spoke confidently.
Doubtless he’d given much thought to such a raid. His father might have been willing to chance it, to bring death and shame to the Alur Meriki, but not Subutai. “If we were burdened with captives, Lady Trella, they would quickly catch up with us, and we would be destroyed.”
Esk kar spoke up. “Subutai, much can be accomplished if the plan is good. We’ve seen how easily the Alur Meriki can be beaten when everything is thought out in advance. Now you have many horses, more than you will need, maybe even more than you can easily drive back to the mountains. The raiding party could capture the women and throw them on horses. If the raid were planned carefully, you would have thongs ready to bind the women to the horses, and torches prepared to burn as much of their camp as possible. If your men did not waste any time or strength in fighting, you could be gone in a few moments. Then the horses could be run until they were exhausted. Change to a relay of new mounts, kill or scatter the old ones, and the Alur Meriki would be chasing you on tired animals. Kill a second string of horses and they’d be left far behind, in danger of being cut off from the main body of the tribe.
They would have to turn back. Any few that went on could be easily trapped and killed.”
Some men would never give up the chase, those whose wives or daughters were important to them. But most would turn back when they saw no quick opportunity of either revenge or loot. There would be plenty of widows in the main camp after the battle at Orak. Those would be easier to obtain than chasing a small band of determined Ur Nammu far into the distant north.
“A raid planned so carefully would have little risk and much chance of success,” Trella offered. “And a wise leader would treat these new women as wives, not slaves. If they were treated better than they were with the Alur Meriki, they’d soon dry their tears and look with admiration on their new husbands.”
She turned to the women. “For your clan to survive, you would have to accept these new captives as equals, not captured concubines, and treat them with friendship, not the whip. In this way, their children and your own would grow up to be brothers.”
The fire had burned down. No one bothered to add more fuel, so Eskkar gathered some wood himself, dumping it on the flames, then arranging the new sticks. Others joined in, and for a few moments everyone focused on rebuilding the fire, giving Subutai time to think. When Esk kar sat down, the circle went silent again.
“Both of you have given me much to think about,” Subutai said cautiously. “And in return for your help, you only ask us to raid the Alur Meriki at the height of the battle?”
“Yes,” Esk kar answered, a little too quickly, so he checked his pace. “It may be that your help isn’t needed to defeat them, or it may be that we are fallen. But at the height of the main attack, your diversion might turn the battle.”
Subutai took a deep breath, and his lips came together for a moment.
“I’d hoped we were finished with fighting for a time. Now we must decide if there is yet one more battle to risk.”
“Chief Subutai, we, too, have one more battle to fight,” Esk kar answered. “But there is always one more battle to wage. Each season brings some new threat. What’s important to remember is to fight only those fights that make your people grow, not those that gain nothing except lasting hatred.”
Esk kar spoke the words, but the idea and thoughts were Trella’s. They’d spoken many times about the future, after the Alur Meriki were defeated.
Subutai stood up and bowed, his people rising to their feet with him.