A guard entered the command post. "We have brought Ambassador Bataar of Barburee," he said. Dagon had ordered his men to treat the five newly captured men with respect even though he was quite sure they were responsible for the attempt on his life.
Bataar walked through the door and slouched down on the empty chair before being invited to sit down.
"Ambassador Bataar," Dagon said, in what he considered a stern, yet affable manner.
"You Headman Dagon?" Bataar asked.
"Yes, I am," Dagon answered.
Bataar gave him a scowl before he turned his attention to the ceiling.
"The two prisoners in our stockade were caught while breaking into my house. They were carrying hidden knives at the time they were captured. I believe they are your men?"
"Scouts." Bataar said.
"Scouts? What were they looking for?"
Bataar shrugged. "Scouts go, look."
"They were not sent to kill me?"
Bataar smiled his sly smile and shrugged again.
"I understand you wish to marry Electra," Dagon said.
Bataar shrugged again. "Make alliance to King Geoffrey."
"Electra is free to marry whoever she wants," Dagon said.
Bataar looked surprised. "You no want for wife?"
"Yes I do. Very much. But Electra is a friend to Helsop. She works in our clinic as a healer. She helped convince her father to enter into a trade alliance with Helsop. We are all very grateful to her. If she wishes to marry someone else, I would not stand in her way."
Bataar looked interested. "King Geoffrey make decide?"
"I believe even King Geoffrey would allow Electra to make her own decisions, though he may try to persuade her to his way of thinking." Dagon leaned back in his chair, watching Bataar.
Bataar mulled over this bit of information. "We go Henge. See sorceress."
"No." Dagon brought his chair upright.
"No? Why no?"
"For the time being Electra is engaged to me and I must watch out for her safety. I believe it is too dangerous for her to go to Henge. Prince Blackwell has tried to kidnap her and hold her for ransom in the past."
Bataar leaned closer and sat up a little straighter. "Henge is enemy to Helsop?"
"Helsop is a small village, as you can see. We lay between Fernland and Henge. In the past we were friends with Henge, but they forced us to trade only with them and paid too little for our tools. We went hungry. Now we are allied with Fernland and we are able to trade freely. We have money for food. However...," Dagon paused and looked into Bataar's eyes. "We try not to provoke Henge to war with us."
Bataar nodded. "You know sorceress?"
"Yes. She is quite powerful."
"She commands army?"
Dagon paused when he heard footsteps outside the command center. He looked annoyed and stood up to see who was interrupting this important meeting. He opened the door and saw Electra with her hand raised, ready to knock on the door.
"I'll be right back," Dagon said over his shoulder as he pushed through the door and closed it behind him before Bataar had a chance to see who was there.
"What is it?" he whispered, guiding Electra away from the door. "I have Bataar in there."
"I have thought of a solution," she said.
"A solution to what?"
"To our problem."
He waved his hand impatiently, urging her to continue.
Electra suppressed her annoyance with his impatience and continued. "If you will not allow me to accompany the ambassadors to Henge, why don't we ask Serafina to come here? We can't allow them to go to Henge without me. Were that to happen, they would end up speaking to Prince Blackwell and surmise that he was in control—not Serafina. Bataar would see that Henge City was a port worth attacking and summon his army without delay. We would soon all be Barburee's puppets."
Dagon saw the logic in her words and could find no flaw in her reasoning. "Do you think she would come? Would Blackwell allow her to come?"
"I believe she would come as a favor to me. I'm sure she still considers herself my mother. As to your second question, I can not believe she would have changed so much in such a short time as to have become one who takes orders from another."
Dagon smiled, unable himself to imagine Serafina taking orders from Prince Blackwell. "We have nothing to lose by trying. Not that I enjoy having the son of the Great Khan as my guest." He paused to think it through again and nodded. "I will stop by later and tell you if Bataar agrees to it."
Dagon opened the door to the command post just enough to slip back through and took his seat across from Bataar.
"As I was saying," he said, "we could invite the sorceress here and you could judge her powers for yourself."
"You friend to sorceress?"
"No, I fear her as everyone does. But she did help Helsop prevail against Fernland by bringing her army here to our defense. I believe she would like to have Helsop back under Henge's control. Even though we are a small and insignificant village, we are good tool makers, so she would probably come for a visit if we invited her. You and your fellow ambassadors would be welcome to stay until she arrives."
Bataar stroked his chin with his thumb. "We stay. See sorceress."
"Fine. I will send a message to her at once." Dagon stood up and went to the door where he summoned a guard to escort Bataar back to his house.
As soon as Bataar was out of sight, Dagon scooped up his quill and ink and ran to find Electra.
Chapter 25
In the Desert on the way to Barburee
Take shaded his eyes with his hand and looked out over the bleak landscape they traveled. Their path was a faint track in the pebble strewn desert. No tree or bush interrupted his view. In every direction there was only the parched brown desert floor and the vast blue cloudless sky overhead. For days they had plodded through this high cold desert, always on the look out for the next little oasis. Once they happened on one, they would water their horses and camels, put up their tents and spend another cold night on bumpy ground.
Take decided to give his horse a rest and relieve his aching muscles at the same time. He dismounted and led his horse behind him. The caravan moved ahead of him, but only slightly, as they kept to a slow pace. Take grimaced when he saw Smiles and Bear dismount alongside him. He did not know how much more of Bear's badgering he could stand.
"Enjoying yer trip thru lovely Barburee, are ye?" Bear asked. "Stoppin' ta see the sights?"
Take didn't answer. He knew any answer would only bring more abuse from his unhappy companion.
"Look there yonder," Smiles said, looking back in the direction from which they had come. "Could be we're in fer another blow."
Off in the distance a small puff of dust moved toward them. Take and Bear groaned at the thought of another dust storm. These storms always came up suddenly, sometimes filling the huge sky with a blizzard of flying dirt and pebbles. If they had time, they would erect their round tents and wait out the storm inside. If the storm came on them too quickly, they would just hunker down against their animals, covering their eyes and noses as best they could until the cloud of debris passed over them.
Take watched to see if the Barburee men would stop to erect their tents. Several of the Barburee men had spotted the puff of dust. They were all pointing at the moving cloud, but this time they did not rush to erect their tents. Instead, they spurred their horses on, yelling and gesturing. Muller the Spy and Hilgard the language student seemed to be shouting something to Take and his companions, but they couldn't make out what they were yelling. The spy and the language student waved wildly and took off at top speed.
"This is crazy," Bear said. "They should know by now ya can't outrun a duster."
"Ya think we should just dig in an wait fer it ta pass?" Smiles asked.
"Wait a minute," Bear said, shielding his eyes. "That ain't no duster comin'. That there's men makin' that d
ust cloud. Men on horses, comin' fast."
Take shielded his eyes and he, too, could make out the tiny figures. "Bandits!" he shouted, jumping on his horse and taking off in the direction the caravan was heading. Smiles and Bear mounted up quickly and followed close behind him.
After an hour the bandits were closing the gap. Their horses were faster or they were better horsemen. It wouldn't be long before they overtook Take and his two companions. In the distance, beyond the caravan, they could see the tops of what appeared to be smooth treeless mountains. This seemed to be the caravan's destination, but it was unlikely the Barburee men would reach it before being overtaken by the bandits. Take could see no help from the mountains even if they were to reach them before being overtaken. He looked over his shoulder into the gleeful faces of the bandits who continued to pound toward them.
"Let's try surrendering," Smiles shouted.
Bear, resigned to his fate and exhausted, nodded. He reined in his horse along with Smiles and they both put their hands in the air. Take reined in as well and turned to join his friends.
The bandits overtook them and to their astonishment, galloped right past the three amazed Fernlanders. Just as their escape seemed a possibility, the last bandit wheeled around on his horse and shouted to them in a language they didn't understand.
"We can't understand you," Take shouted back.
The bandit wore a dirty brown robe, a tattered cloth hat that came to a tall point in front, and carried a large curved sword. He shouted at the three Fernland men as he pointed his sword, first at them and then at the caravan, still fleeing for the mountains. He shouted again and the three Fernlanders started off in the direction of the caravan with their bandit guard following.
Chapter 26
In the Shadow of the Dunes of Barburee
Take, Bear and Smiles rode as fast as their tired horses allowed with their lone bandit riding alongside, shouting at them.
"What do ya think he's sayin'?" Smiles called out.
"He's saying go faster or I'll kill you all," Take said to himself.
"What's that ya say?" Smiles yelled.
"Just keep goin'," Bear said. "He likely wants ta catch up with his mates."
The bandit waved his sword in a threatening way as he kept one eye on his fellow bandits up ahead.
The bandits up ahead were gaining slowly on the Barburee caravan. It would be a close race as to which group would reach the foot of the mountains first. As they closed in on the mountains, they could see that they now appeared to be a giant sand dunes. The members of the Barburee caravan stopped in the shadow of the first dune and took kneeling positions. They began firing arrows at the bandits. One bandit fell from his horse with an arrow in his chest.
The bandit riding beside Take saw his fellow bandit fall. He screamed a ferocious oath and slashed the air with his sword. Take could see the bandit wanted to join his comrades. The bandit seemed to be deciding whether or not to kill the three of them. Take jumped off his horse and held his hands in the air. Smiles and Bear did the same. The bandit hit Take's horse with the side of his sword and shouted. All three horses bolted and the bandit left Take, Bear and Smiles standing together with their hands raised while he galloped ahead to join his friends.
The three men sat down on the dry ground, still shaking with fright as they watched the battle between the Barburee men and the bandits unfold.
"What should we do?" Smiles asked, as the bandits slashed their way through the line of Barburee archers.
"Naught we can do now," Bear said. "Look, they're headin' fer the pack animals."
The bandits took the reins of the horses with the heaviest loads and the camels, purchased at the last oasis to carry extra food and water. They began leading the animals out through the clumps of men still fighting. The remaining bandits began attacking the Barburee archers who had begun to regroup.
"Do ya think they aim ta kill 'em all?" Smiles asked, his voice still trembling.
"I think they'll make a run for it as soon as they take out the archers," Take said.
"Ya mean that's what ya hope," Bear said.
"I see Muller the Spy still standing," Smiles said. "See there with the black shirt?"
"If he's smart he'll be stayin' out of it," Bear said.
"What's that?" Take looked down at the ground.
"What's what?" Bear asked. Then he felt it too.
"The ground's shakin'." Smiles pressed his palms to the ground.
"And listen to that," Take cupped his ears with his hands.
All three stopped talking and listened.
Something strange was happening within the giant sand dune. It began to sing. The song was a low mournful hum that vibrated in the air around them. The three men looked at one another to make sure they were all hearing it.
"What the devil is that?" Bear asked.
"It's the mountain," Smiles said. "It be talkin' to us."
They watched the giant sand dune, awe struck.
Avalanches of sand rolled down the sides of the dune as the vibrating sound waves intensified.
The bandits and the Barburee men stopped their fighting. Clouds of dust and sand rolled off the vibrating dune toward the men in its shadow. The bandits took only the pack animals they had managed to tie in a line behind them, and left the rest as they made their escape. The Barburee men watched the top of the giant dune as they pushed themselves up and began to assess their wounds.
Take, Smiles and Bear huddled together, fearing the worst as the bandits raced toward them. But the bandits were too preoccupied with their own escape to pay any attention to the weaponless Fernlanders. They rode past at high speed with fearful glances over their shoulders.
The vibrations from the dune intensified. Take could feel them through the soles of his boots. Clouds of swirling sand filled the sky. The heads of a few horses appeared far up at the crest of the dune, then the heads of their riders. As these men began their descent down the steep slope, another wave of riders appeared at the ridge line. Wave after wave of soldiers covered the mountainside, descending slowly, waving to the Barburee men below. The army of the Great Khan had arrived.
Chapter 27
Barburee
Take, Bear and Smiles walked toward the caravan, watching the army spill over the top of the great sand dune. As they walked, the dune continued to sing its low mournful note. The Great Khan's army covered the dune now, a quivering mass of humanity that swarmed down the sand like giant insects. The first soldiers reached the bottom of the dune and continued to flow out onto the plain below, making room for those who followed. And still the army came, wave after wave of men advancing over the crest. Thousands, hundreds of thousands. This was not just the army of Barburee. This was the whole of Barburee, on the move, an army of nomadic families.
Soldiers on horseback passed the three Fernlanders, giving them curious glances as they rode by. The three men began to worry that they would become lost in this sea of people and be unable to locate Muller, Hilgard and the members of their caravan. Then, suddenly, Twenty Quivers was beside them, leading three horses.
"Come," he said, "I take to friends."
The three men jumped on the horses gratefully and rode behind Twenty Quivers, staying close so as not to lose him in the crowd. They squeezed their way through the hoards of soldiers still spilling out onto the hard baked plain. Some of the soldiers nodded or called out to Twenty Quivers as they passed. All the soldiers wore leather caps, reinforced with metal strips. They wore leather arm bands to protect their wrists and leather legging as well. Some groups carried bows and arrows, some lances, some swords, some axes. They rode in groups of ten, relaxed, singing as they rode.
Twenty Quivers led them back to the area where the fight with the bandits had taken place. Muller the Spy and Hilgard the language student yelled and waved when they spotted their countrymen. A physician and several women were busy bandaging the wounded. Muller had a
bandage on his arm and Hilgard was still being checked for wounds.
"You are all unscathed?" Muller asked.
"We were lucky," Take said. "The bandits rode right by us but didn't stop to kill us. They were too busy making their escape."
"They not escape," Twenty Quivers said with a frown. "I send men to capture them."
Take shivered a little at Twenty Quiver's ominous tone of voice. He would not like to be in the shoes of the bandits right now.
Hilgard approached the group, limping, with a bandage on his knee. "It is just a sprain, I think. I fell from my horse."
"Thieves will die," Twenty Quivers said to Hilgard.
"The Great Khan's army is huge," Take wanted to change the subject.
Twenty Quivers looked at him, confused. "What mean huge?"
"Army is very big," Take said, holding his arms wide apart.
Twenty Quivers smiled, full of pride. "Army is as the sands of the dunes."
As they all turned their attention to the dune, they saw pack animals emerging along the crest. Thousands of horses, camels, donkeys and some enormous grey animals with large floppy ears, sharp tusks and long dangling noses appeared.
Twenty Quivers looked at the mountainside and smiled broadly. He stood up high in his saddle and waved his hand back and forth. A group of women and children halfway down the dune finally saw him and waved back, shouting.
"My family," Twenty Quivers said. "Come, meet. You stay my family. Be happy there."
Muller and Hilgard found horses and the five Fernlanders followed Twenty Quivers up the dune. They were greeted with smiles and many words they could not understand. Twenty Quivers beamed with happiness as his family surrounded him.
"You stay our tent. My wife, Bayarmaa make good to eat."
Bayarmaa lowered her eyes and bowed her head respectfully. She was dressed in a colorful sheepskin robe and trousers, her hair pulled down in thick braids that resembled the horns of a sheep. Two little girls, dressed similarly, were introduced as Twenty Quivers' grand daughters. They giggled behind their hands when the Fernland men looked at them. They bowed their heads at a sharp word from Twenty Quivers, but continued to grin at one another mischievously when Twenty Quivers turned away.