I watch her now as she writes my story. In only two moons has she mastered the script. True, she had much tuition from her mother and I as she grew, but she did not attend temple as did her brothers. But how much brighter does her flame burn than theirs? As I look upon her I see her mother’s beauty. The gleaming hair, black as pitch, shining like the oil of the lamp; her eyes, slanted and dark, flashing with interest or anger; her nose, large and gently hooked like that of her grandfather, but so much more comely upon her face. Ah, she fixes me again with the beady eye. This means I must cease my ramblings and continue my story. And I will continue my story, though I am a little tired and the story, in truth, is a little longer in the telling than I had thought. But no matter. Onward.
Our final day in the safe harbour dawned heavy with mist. The mist lay close around us so that we could not see even fifty cubits. Even the trees of the forest, so close by our sides the day before, now appeared to us as wraiths that moved secretly through the curling strands of white. And the air was heavy and swallowed all sound, such that we could not hear the splashing of the birds in the shallows, or the splash of a jumping fish. This day our breakfast was a thick brew of meat and meal, made by Minkaf from the legs of the runtish pigs, and with porridge and seed pods, and some fragrant leaves that we had bartered with the tall ones. The taste was strange, as always, but again Minkaf plied us with his berry cakes and we filled our bellies with relish, and washed it down with water from the barrels. We also ate of a strange fruit that Isesi brought from the forest, a fruit with a round green husk that was hard like leather but, when split with a hatchet or knife, the fruit offered up large portions of the sweet yellow meat. We feasted until our bellies were round and tight.
After we had completed our breakfast we took food to the Beasts. Our stores were filled with joints from the runtish pig and we took two and three pieces of meat to each Beast. Those that were awake ate the meat with relish. But our ship was ready to sail and there was little to do until the tide had turned and so we sat upon the deck, the Nubians dicing near the rear deck, my comrades and I sitting under the foredeck sail. Naguib and Omar the Centurion stood near the tiller, talking of home. It was at this most peaceful time that we were delivered of another vision of this strange land. We were all filled with food and resting, the air warm and the wind light, the sky blue as lapis lazuli and scattered with white clouds, the waters around us swirling in soft greens and brilliant blues. As the ship began to turn in the tide Naguib asked that we push the empty cages from the ship. He said that it would lighten the ship greatly and that the deck would not be so cramped or so crowded. The sun was high as we pushed the last of the empty cages from our ship and into the sea, where they lay upon the sand, only partly covered by the water and perhaps two hundred cubits from the sandy beach. As the heavy cages fell into the soft waters, our ship rose easily on the flooding tide. We ran to the sails as Naguib and the Nubians pulled hard on the tiller arm, turning our ship across the wind and pointing the bow towards the green headlands and the open sea. As I pulled on the sails I kissed the amulet at my neck and prayed for a safe journey. Then, in a moment, came the screams of the Nubians and I knew, yet again, that our fate was in the wind.
* * *
At the screams of the Nubians we ran to the starboard side of the ship, where the sandy beach and the forest stood no more than two hundred cubits distant. The beach was wide and glowed white in the sun and we saw in a moment why the Nubians screamed. For there on the beach we saw a strange being. When first I saw it I thought it a man. But then I saw how it moved. It did not walk as a man walks. It made leaps through the air. And its tail was long and thick. It was strange animal, if indeed it was an animal. And then the Nubians screamed afresh, for more of the strange beings came onto the beach, greater than one score, and made jumps to take them to the edge of the water where they stood and looked out towards our ship.
For a many moments we were silent as we watched these strange beings, with their small pointed heads and thin arms, but with strangely heavy hindquarters and long tails. What sort of being was this? Was it a man or an animal? It looked like a man but not like a man. It stood as tall, nay taller, than many men, but its body was covered in red hair and its hands seemed small and frail. I felt the fear move in my chest. Was it another test, another trial that we must face?
Then there was a shout from Omar the Centurion. As we watched the beings on the beach we had sailed our ship close to the sand bar on the other side of the river. We ran to the sails with great haste, and the Nubians ran to pull on the tiller arm with Naguib and Omar. We heard the grinding of our keel in the sand and felt our ship slow but we triumphed and turned the ship to sail again past the beach and the red haired animals. In my mind I had at this time decided that the strange beings must be animals, for no man had I seen who walked with hair on all parts of his body. And none with a tail, or such feeble arms. No. These were indeed animals.
But the Gods were not finished with us. There was another scream from the Nubians and again we rushed to the railings. There were more strange beings on the beach, but this time I knew them to be men. These men were small and fine of limb, but no less men, their bodies written in stripes of ash, their beards long and ragged, their skin dark, though not so dark as is the Nubian, their hair wild and filled with grasses. They were as if made from the earth itself, and from the straw gathered in the field, and all carried a bundle of long sticks at their hand. When the animals saw the straw men they began to jump, jumps of many cubits that quickly took them far along the beach. The straw men stopped and cast the long sticks a great distance at the animals. I realised then that these men carried spears. Surely, spears of great difference to those we carried, but spears no less.
It was over in but a moment and two of the red haired animals lay upon the sand, a long thin spear of wood passed through each. One of the animals still moved and we watched as the men ran to it, one standing near its head and striking it again and again with a thick piece of wood. Then we heard a faint shout and all the straw men turned towards us. One ran to the edge of the water and cast a piece of wood across the waves. Strangely the wood seemed to fly through the air for a great time before falling into the water not far from our ship. And we saw that the straw men were of great strength for he had cast the wood more than two hundred cubits.
But there was another shout from Omar. Again we must turn the ship before we strike another sand bar. And so we ran to the sails and the Nubians pulled again on the tiller arm and we turned for the headland and the open sea. As the wind filled our sails and the ship leaned into the waves I ran to the rear deck and stood with Naguib and Omar and watched the strange straw men on the white sand. And wondered. Yet again we had seen strange beings and strange animals. But yet again we had journeyed safely, our ship firm and strong, our stores filled, our bodies clean and fed. What fate did the Gods plan for us? And where was our journey’s end? The Pharaoh had sent us forth to deliver the Beasts to the land of Gond. Was this the land of Gond I asked myself again. Could it be so strange? Naguib was certain it was not, that we would know our journey’s end when first we saw it. But I was not so certain. We had journeyed for longer than ten moons, and seen things that few men ever see. I knew in my heart that the Gods had not yet finished with us and that it may be many more moons before our journey was ended.
* * *
The winds were kind and the seas mild and for five days we sailed with the coast at our port bow. The rolling hills were green and thick with trees, the rocky headlands split by white sandy beaches and, sometimes, the wide mouth of a river. Nowhere did we see anything that reminded us of our home. And nowhere did we see any more of the strange red haired animals or the straw men who pursued them. The seas we sailed through were rich with fish. Minkaf cast for fish on the second day after leaving the safe harbour and in a single morning had pulled a score of fish from the water. The fish were fine eating, their flesh white and firm, with few bones. From that day all on board
cast lines each morning, pulling fish of all colours and sizes from the water. So many fish did we catch that on the fourth day our barrels were full. Minkaf and Mushariff toiled for a full day, splitting and cleaning the fish and hanging the flesh upon racks to dry in the sun.
But by the fifth day we had eaten our fill of fish. When Minkaf served salted fish and berry cakes on the evening of our fifth day at sea even the Nubians were unhappy. And even the mighty Beasts turned their head from any offering we put before them. Naguib spoke with Minkaf and asked that he serve some runtish pig, at which Minkaf grew angry and went to the other end of the ship and refused to speak for a full day. Of course we went with haste to the kitchen and ate well of pig and berry cakes. Minkaf grew even more angry when he perceived this. But that very night, as we lay in our slings, with full bellies and tired limbs, another storm came upon us. As we stumbled from our slings and climbed to the main deck the wind howled and waves broke across our decks. Naguib and the Nubians pulled on the tiller arm and steered us away from the shore, for we did not wish to run our ship into the rocky headlands, to be battered and crushed to splinters in the roaring winds and waves.
For four days and nights we rode before the storm, the clouds low and dark upon the ocean, the waves rolling black and high beneath our ship. Each morning I fell from my sling, weak with sickness, my head aching such that it might burst, my bowels and stomach on fire. Truly I wished that I would die. But of course I did not. And though my comrades prayed equally for a merciful end to their suffering, none were granted their wish. No. The Gods had other plans. For four days the Gods beat their drums and drove the storm onward and for four days we suffered. But the Gods take pity upon even the greatest sinners and so it was that on the fourth night the storm weakened and died and the clouds fled and we sailed under a bright moon on a black rolling sea.
* * *
I awoke before dawn, my limbs cold but my stomach and bowels quietened. All others were asleep around me as I dropped from my sling and climbed the steps to the main deck, my sandals slapping on the wet timbers, my shoulders and arms shivering in the early morning air. It was the moment before the dawn, when the light has not yet risen, such that shadows seem to move and have a life of their own. This day is clear in my mind, even after so long. Naguib and Omar the Centurion stood on the rear deck, a Nubian on the foredeck watched for shoals or other dangers. A grey mist curled through the sails and the rigging and wafted between the cages of the Beasts. The mist was such that I could see perhaps two hundred cubits from the ship but no further. The wind had fallen away to a zephyr and the sea ran black and silent beneath our keel. The only sounds were the creaks and groans of the timbers of the ship or the squeal of a rope as the sails pulled in the light breeze. In the strange early light and with the grey mist curling around us it was as if we traveled alone in the world. It was a strange feeling.
Minkaf came to the main deck and went to his kitchen. I watched as he fired the coals under two vats. More of the runtish pig I thought. How I hungered for the wheat cakes that my mother and my sisters would make. Could it really be only four score of days and nights that we had left our homeland? Isesi and the Omars came forward and joined Minkaf and I as we ate. Minkaf had also brewed tea, made from the bark of tree he had selected when in safe harbour. It tasted faintly of grasses but was pleasant enough. Minkaf was pleased when I said this to him. He carried gourds to Naguib and Omar the Centurion who supped heartily. It was then that Gase, one of the Nubians, called from the foredeck.
I looked over the side of our ship and saw that the water had turned from black to a soft blue, a sign that we were approaching shallow water though with a sandy bottom. The mist was beginning to rise, sparkles of sunlight coming from the water and flickering across our sails. Naguib turned the ship to starboard, again to take us away from the shore and any shoals or reefs that might abound. It was then that Isesi shouted and leapt to the railing. He was followed by Mushariff, and the Omars and Minkaff. Even the Nubians crowded close. For in an instant the mist was swept away, as if the curtains of the Gods, and a vista was shown to us that brought us to tears.
Stretched before us was a string of golden islands, with tall, golden dunes sparkling and yellow in the morning sun, their tops feathered in the breeze, their steep slopes unblemished and clear. It was as if I stood at the edge of the city of Memphis and looked to the south, to the desert, where the mighty dunes marched in never-ending lines to the horizon. As far as we could see the islands stretched, the high golden dunes broken by narrow, green channels of water. These dunes also marched to the horizon and on one of the islands, not more than three hundred cubits distant, I spied a single tree. A palm.
I knew then that we had reached our destination. We had reached the Pharaoh’s distant land, that which we would know as our own home. After ten score of days and nights of misery and fear our ship sailed close by the dunes of gold. Many of our comrades had died. Many of the Beasts had also perished in the terrible cold of the southern ocean. We had seen things that men should not see, seen strange beings and animals, and eaten of new and strange foods and drink. It was a wondrous journey, but one filled also with much sadness. What further dangers or perils could now await us? Surely the Gods would dice no more with our lives. Surely our sacrifices had been great. Surely they could want no more. But did I really believe this for even a moment? No. I did not. For I knew deep in my belly that this was still only the beginning, that before many more days had passed the dice would again roll across the stars, throwing our fates to the heavens and our lives to the winds. This it seems has ever been my lot. For there before us, shining and gold under a dark sun, lay Our Pharaoh’s land. Our destination. Our destiny. The land of Gond.
* * *
(Here endeth the fourteenth night of words of Agymah Chahine of Abydos - scribed by Khuyb, Daughter of Agymah, in the City of Memphis in the fourth year of the Ox. Agymah has again gone to sup wine with his friend Nedemeb where, so has Nedemeb’s wife Habibah said to me, they will behave in a foul and odious manner. And Imhotep, who is in grave need of a wife, and whom I plan to wed, is asleep in the kitchen and again has failed in his duties. This, I fear, will ever be the way of men.)
Part XV – Men of Earth and Straw
(Here is written the fifteenth night of words of Agymah Chahine of Abydos - scribed by Khuyb, Daughter of Agymah, in the City of Memphis in the fourth year of the Ox. Imhotep has been gone this last day. My mother, Eti, wife of Agymah, told him that he must make gift of a dowry and now he cannot be found. I am not surprised. This, also, is ever the way of men.)
As the sun burned away the mist, the golden islands rose through the fog, like strange hump backed animals, their shoulders cloaked in green and grey, their shores yellow and shining in the morning light. They stretched into the distance, as far as our eyes could see, the golden dunes rolling to the horizon, broken here and there by the pale blues and greens of the water, and streaked with green of forest and bushes. Naguib nosed our ship close by the shore of the nearest island, no more than two hundred cubits from the sandy beach. It was mid-tide and we soon felt the grind and lurch of the ship as it bellied upon the soft sand. As our ship came to a halt the Nubians cast our anchor from the bow, a mighty cross of rock and wood, bound with thick ropes of hemp. All on board lined the railings, our eyes drawn to the golden dunes that reached high above us. The dunes were tall, so tall that they stretched far above the height of our tallest mast, taller even that the tallest dunes of Egypt. Never had we seen such mountains of sand. I heard Isesi whisper to one of the Omars that the island must be ten times the height of our mast. And our mast was as high as one hundred cubits. We all stared in wonder.
The islands were huge, and of great beauty. The dunes were so tall that in some places we could see deep valleys where water ran, and trees and bushes in abundance. On our starboard side lay a small cove, its sandy shore pierced by a narrow watercourse, bordered by green grasses and surrounded by dark trees for a short distance,
thence the steep wall of sand stretching to the sky. The water in the cove was the blue of the sky, the movements of fish clear against the soft white sand beneath the water. Yes. It was a truly beautiful place. But Naguib, ever the master of the ship, would allow no rest. As he and Omar the Centurion shouted orders we ran to the sails, folding and binding these so that they did not catch the wind. We brought empty water barrels to the deck and placed these in two of the dhows, along with baskets, that we might store fruit should we find any. And our spears tipped with bronze, should we meet any of the strange red haired hopping animals or the dark skinned men. And our goatskins, from which we might drink to slake our thirst, for the air was indeed warm and the sun hot upon our shoulders. How far had we travelled I wondered since our days in the cold southern ocean? How far indeed? Our days in the cold south seemed so far behind us that they were as if but a dream.
Two days said Naguib. Only two days did we have to replenish our stores with water and any food we might find. Two days should our ship need any further repairs. Two days until we release the last of the Beasts. And then we set sail for our home. My comrades and I chattered with excitement as we lowered our dhows to the water. Even the Nubians were clucking and laughing. Our journey was done. Soon, we would sail for Egypt.