The sun beat down from directly overhead when Eskkar and his men topped a low rise and saw the village of Bisitun in the distance, about an hour’s march away. Like Akkad, it nestled against the eastern bank of the river Tigris. At Akkad, though, the great river curled halfway around the city. Here at Bisitun the river ran straight. A mile more to the northeast, and the Tigris would begin to curve sharply northward, continuing its long journey to the mountains of its birth.
Also like Akkad, Bisitun offered easy fordage of the great river. The Tigris here stretched wider from bank to bank, and the water flowed slower and somewhat shallower than at Akkad. A narrow, sandy island split the flowing water in two, and allowed travelers to rest at the river’s midpoint.
During the late summer season, when the depth ran even lower, a strong man could walk and swim across to the other side, though the distance reached almost a quarter of a mile. Usually small boats made of reeds carried men, supplies, and even horses on their journey. With the coming of the fall season, the river ran deeper and stronger, and its strength would continue to increase until midsummer.
Eskkar signaled a halt, and the Akkadian soldiers took their rest, glad to have reached the end of their journey. It had taken them five days to march here from Dilgarth, long days with hard traveling broken frequently by training and special drills. Those had puzzled the men, but Eskkar, ignoring their questions, pushed them ever harder. With a conflict almost certain, he wanted the iron discipline that had saved Akkad, and Eskkar demanded every order be instantly obeyed, without question or argument.
The soldiers got no respite from the drills even after dark, their rest and dinner often interrupted by subcommanders barking out orders to prepare a line of battle or form up for an attack. At least once each night, the men found themselves jolted awake, their leaders shouting that the enemy was attacking, and bellowing at them to find their weapons and places.
By the middle of the second day, a shouted command would quickly transform them into a crude square, with the pack animals and supplies in the center, ringed by ready bowmen. Well drilled by now, they would not be surprised by any attacking force. Moreover, they had the soldier’s confidence in themselves and their comrades, knowing that every man knew his place and his duties.
Even the liverymen, scribes, and merchants received extra tasks, and these noncombatants drilled as rigorously as the soldiers, taking charge of the men’s baggage or making sure spare arrows and extra water stood ready. That night, a few of the men had grown weary enough to complain, but they did that only once. Hamati had knocked one down so hard that the man lay unconscious for almost an hour.
By the time they reached Bisitun, Eskkar’s men had achieved the mood he intended. Tired, near exhaustion, footsore-they’d transferred their anger to the men in Bisitun, the bandits who had wearied their legs and interrupted their sleep.
The Akkadians took in their surroundings with grim interest, knowing that, from today on, there would be no more drills. If the men felt worried about what would happen now that they’d reached Bisitun, they were too tired to show it. The scene before them seemed peaceful enough. The usual farms lay scattered across the landscape, crisscrossed by the ever-present irrigation canals, with the occasional brown mud houses. A single dirt pathway, well trodden, continued its way up to the village. Everything appeared peaceful, and it looked much the same as on Eskkar’s last visit here, nearly two years ago.
“Well, Captain,” Sisuthros said, as he rode up to the head of the column, where Eskkar and Grond had stopped their horses, “do we camp here or should we press on?”
“Let’s stay here for an hour, at least,” Eskkar answered. “We’re in no rush now.”
“They won’t come out to challenge us,” Grond said. “That would be too easy. Even bandits aren’t that stupid.”
“No, I suppose not,” Eskkar said. “But the men need a rest anyway, and from now on, we have to convince Ninazu of our plan.”
Eskkar caught the glance that passed between Sisuthros and Grond, but neither man said anything. The time for arguing had passed, and the next few days would resolve everyone’s doubts.
So the men rested and stared at the village for over an hour before they resumed their march. They moved slowly, the soldiers walking close together, ringed at a good distance by the twenty mounted riders. During the last four days, Eskkar had drilled the men for an attack by a large, mounted band of riders. The soldiers had learned to form up rapidly, string their bows and prepare their weapons, and make ready for an attack from any or all sides.
Nevertheless the soldiers moved cautiously, every man alert, and it took another hour to reach their destination. Eskkar gave the order to halt fifty paces out of a long bowshot from the village’s palisade.
Eskkar nodded at Sisuthros. His subcommander turned and began shouting orders to the men. First they straddled the road that led to the village and dropped their packs and supplies. Unencumbered, they got right to work, though every man kept his weapons close by. While twenty men stood guard with strung bows, the rest began to dig a ditch across the road. They had plenty of shovels and digging tools, most of them acquired during the last four days as the horsemen checked every farm they passed for digging implements, paying copper coins to the farmers only too eager to sell them. The rest of the men used their hands, sticks, or whatever else they could obtain. Fortunately, the sandy soil made the work proceed quickly.
Eskkar rode off a little ways, Grond at his side, and studied the village before them. The Alur Meriki in their passing must have burned a good portion of the palisade, and Eskkar could see where it had been rebuilt.
No doubt the barbarians had knocked down plenty of houses during their looting, but mud bricks were easily replaced, and a peasant’s hut could be rebuilt with a few days’ labor. Bisitun probably hadn’t changed much in the last few years. Back then more than five hundred people lived here; now that number might even be higher, with all the nearby farmers driven from their land, crops and homes destroyed. Some might have left since the coming of Ninazu, but others would still come, looking for any communal place of safety, even a village ruled by bandits.
Fresh repairs to the main gate showed plainly; no doubt the Alur Meriki had broken up the previous one and used it for firewood. All the mud houses within bowshot of the palisade had been knocked down, and the rubble broken up and strewn about, to impede the progress of any attacker. The palisade stood higher than Eskkar remembered, and appeared to have been reinforced with extra logs or planks. The new gate looked sturdy as well, though nowhere near as massive as Akkad’s main entrance.
Eskkar could see the defenders standing behind the stockade, some still scurrying about, searching for their assigned positions. Most of them carried bows, with axes and swords no doubt close at hand. From the highest point of the palisade, just to the side of the gate, a small group of men stood apart and watched the soldiers from Akkad as they began to dig in.
“I’ll wager that one’s Ninazu,” Grond commented. “Looks a little like his brother, at any rate. The tall one with the silver armbands.”
Eskkar picked out the man, but his eye couldn’t see any resemblance at that distance, only the polished silver glinting in the sun. For a moment that irritated him. Ten seasons ago, it would have been his eyes that spotted such details. Not that he could complain; his luck had kept him alive.
Few fighting men made it to their thirtieth season, and Eskkar had survived more battles than he could remember. Still, he knew the trades of fighting and soldiering were best left to men just reaching their twentieth season.
“We’ll know soon enough if that’s him,” Eskkar grunted. “But keep an eye on that one. We’ll need to identify the leaders for later on.”
“Do you think they’ll come out to fight? They look ready enough.”
“No, not if their leader’s got any wits. Not yet, at any rate. This Ninazu probably expects an immediate attack on the village, if not today, then tomorrow. Let him watch our men dig in… give him plenty of time to wonder what we’re planning.”
“Should we ride around and take a look at the other sides?”
“When we’re dug in. There’ll be plenty of time tomorrow. Let’s try and get a count of how many fighters we’re facing.”
Eskkar stayed in the same position a long time, looking at the palisade, trying to put himself in the bandit leader’s place. The siege at Akkad had given him a wealth of experience in defending a village from attack.
Soldiers and villagers alike had spent almost five months preparing for the Akkad siege, learning and even inventing new defenses, then endured more than a month of hard fighting against the entire Alur Meriki clan.
In the end, Eskkar and his soldiers had forced the barbarians to move on, defeating them as much by denying them food as by resisting them on the battlements.
With that experience, Eskkar studied Bisitun and its wooden palisade.
This time he would be the attacker, the one outside the walls. Put yourself in your enemy’s mind, Trella would remind him. This Ninazu had the village and the stockade to protect him, and Ninazu had more men than his besiegers.
But just because a man carried a sword didn’t make him an experienced fighter. The men from Akkad had trained and practiced their skills for over five months. More important, many of them had faced battle-hardened, determined fi ghters and beat them. No scruffy band of brigands, held together only by their love of gold and fear of their leaders, would stand up to Eskkar’s men for more than a few moments in open combat. Ninazu must realize this. So there would be no sudden sortie from the village, to rush and overwhelm the attackers.
Ninazu would have other worries as well. Eskkar hadn’t really needed to talk to the local farmers to know how they had been treated. And while the reluctant inhabitants of Bisitun might stand on the wall and look determined, they weren’t going to fight to the death for Ninazu, a man who had taken freely their wives and daughters as well as their crops and valuables, and ruled only by force. No, Ninazu couldn’t trust his villagers for long.
And if the bandit ventured out and suffered a defeat, many of his men would start thinking about taking what they had gained and slipping across the river to safety. Ninazu needed a quick victory. If Eskkar attacked and was driven off, Ninazu’s position and strength would increase.
The longer the siege went on, the more confidence Ninazu’s men would have. But time, which seemed to be on Ninazu’s side, would soon be working in Eskkar’s favor.
“This Ninazu has plenty of men,” Eskkar said, “willing and unwilling.
I count at least ninety or a hundred fi ghting men that I can see. No doubt there are more waiting behind the palisade. More than enough to attack us here. But he’ll wait a few days, to see what we’re up to.”
“Then we’ll have to show him what we can do, Captain,” Grond answered. “He’s in for a surprise.”
“Just make sure we’re not the ones who are surprised.”
The rough ideas that Eskkar had first considered back in Dilgarth and reworked on the march north still had merit, and the terrain around the village seemed favorable. Now that he could study the village’s defenses, he needed to give more thought to some details, but he had his plan. Tonight and tomorrow would give him more information even as he set in motion the first part of his plan.
Though not by nature a patient man, Eskkar could afford to take his time. He wanted to capture the village without losing too many men. The soldiers he and Gatus had trained were far too valuable to throw away in a frontal assault, though he already felt sure he could force the palisade, using his archers to drive Ninazu’s men from the walls. But many would die, and Eskkar needed all the trained fi ghting men he had, not only here, but back in Akkad as well. No, he would stay with his original plan. His mind made up, Eskkar and Grond turned their horses around and headed back toward their new encampment.
By the time darkness fell, the camp’s basic defense was nearly completed. A shallow ditch surrounded the men on three sides, with only their rear exposed. By early tomorrow, that opening would be closed as well.
The earth from the ditch had been piled up on the inside of the camp to form an embankment, and men worked at packing it down even now. This dirt wall would stop an arrow as well as any wooden fence, while the ditch in front would hinder either men or horses, should the men inside Bisitun attempt to overrun the Akkadians.
The idea for a fortified camp such as this had come from Gatus. He and Eskkar had argued over many nights and much ale about its worth.
The old soldier had a special way with training the men, and seemed ob-sessed with the idea of fortifications. Until this moment, Eskkar had remained skeptical, but now, watching the earthworks go up, he realized that the old fighter was right.
Sisuthros posted the guards and made the rounds to make sure they stayed alert. But Eskkar would depend more on the three men who slipped out of the camp as soon as the last of the sun vanished from the sky. They would creep up as close to the palisade as possible to keep watch. If the defenders decided to sortie out, the three sentries would give warning.
Inside the camp Sisuthros kept all seventy Akkadians busy for another two hours, before they were allowed to turn in, though a third of the men would stay awake and alert throughout the night. The tired soldiers fell asleep in moments, snoring away in blissful repose, a sound loud enough to wake the demons or the dead. Only when everything seemed secure for the night did Grond, Hamati, and Sisuthros sit down with Eskkar around a small campfire to discuss their next steps.
“From what we could see on the palisade,” Eskkar began, “it looks as though Ninazu has at least a hundred fighting men, probably thirty or forty more that he’s kept hidden. The rest are villagers and the local farmers, no doubt with swords at their backs as well as in their hands.”
“What if they try an attack tonight?” Hamati asked. He had charge of the first group of twenty-five men who would be awake and ready throughout the night.
“I don’t think they will,” Eskkar answered. “He knows he outnumbers us. Why should they give up their strong position to attack us in ours? No, he’ll wait, thinking we may attack tomorrow.”
“We could still try something at night ourselves,” Sisuthros suggested.
“We don’t have the men to waste. We’ll stay with the plan, for the next few days at least.” Eskkar stood. “Wake me when you change the guards, Hamati. I’ll want to talk to the men. Now, let’s get some rest.”
Eskkar arose before dawn broke. He’d slept well during the night, despite waking twice as the twenty-five defenders were replaced. Each time, he made the rounds with the new men, inspecting them, talking with them, and reminding them to keep alert.
All around him men groaned and stretched, their muscles stiff from yesterday’s digging. He smiled at that. Those muscles would loosen up soon enough. There would be more digging today. A lot more. The men should be grateful. At least they wouldn’t be marching anywhere.
Before the sun cleared the horizon, Eskkar stood atop the dirt embankment and looked toward the village. The palisade stood fully manned, a sign of good discipline on his enemy’s part. No doubt Ninazu had expected an early morning attack, or even something during the night. With the sun behind him, Eskkar picked out the man with bright silver bracelets on both his arms. If that proved to be Ninazu, he would be an easy target, especially for Mitrac and his bow.
Eskkar studied the palisade only long enough to be sure the defenders had no plans for a morning attack of their own. When he turned away, half a dozen arrows flew into the sky, trying to reach him. All scattered themselves in the earth, the nearest of them at least sixty paces short of their target. Smiling, Eskkar waved at the bandit leader, then stepped back down inside the embankment.
After a quick meal of stale bread and hard cheese, Eskkar watched as Sisuthros gave the morning orders. His subcommander sent out ten scouts on horseback, to make sure no one surprised the Akkadians from their rear or flanks. The scouts dispatched, Sisuthros directed the liverymen and scribes to fetch fresh water from the river, and put the rest of the men to work. First they would finish the ditch around the entire camp. Then the ditch would be made deeper and the rampart higher, higher than really needed. Eskkar wanted the camp secure by day’s end, and his men concealed from the defenders, so they could prepare their surprises.
The men worked steadily, only half of them laboring at any time, as the others stood guard or rested. By noon, a steep wall of packed-down dirt surrounded the camp. Only an opening six paces wide at the rear remained. Sisuthros’s scouts returned, leading two wagons that could be used to block that opening if necessary. With the basic fortification constructed the men labored, on making the ditch deeper and the rampart higher. Eskkar walked around the camp once again, as he had already done a dozen times, talking to the men, encouraging them, telling them they could rest when the ditch was completed.
A shout made him look up. One of Sisuthros’s scouts had appeared, riding toward the camp from the south. His slow canter told Eskkar that he bore no urgent news, so Eskkar walked leisurely to the rear of the camp.
Grond, Hamati, and Sisuthros joined him, just as the rider dismounted.
“What is it, Tuvar?” Sisuthros clasped the man on the shoulder. “What did you see?”
“Just what you expected, Commander.” Tuvar handed the horse over to one of the other men. Then he turned to face Eskkar. “Captain, we met fi ve farmers from the nearby countryside. They were frightened, but they still approached us.”
“Good. Where did you meet them?” Eskkar needed the local farmers.
They would be an important part of his plan.
“A few miles to our rear, Captain. We were well out of sight of the village. I told them we were here to free the village from Ninazu and his thieves, and that we’d purchase as much firewood, food, and wine as they could sell us.”
“And you told them…” Eskkar couldn’t stop the smile that appeared on his face.
“I told them to bring it here. They didn’t like that. They’re afraid we’ll just take their food and keep our silver.” Tuvar smiled at the memory. “I told them that if they were afraid, to bring it a little at a time, and that we would pay for each delivery. It happened just as you said it would, Captain.
They’ll come, I’m sure of it.”
“Since they know you, ride back to where you found them, and wait there for them. You can escort them here. Remember, we’re their friends, eager to help them get rid of Ninazu. This is important, Tuvar. Take care with them, and treat them politely.”
“I understand, Captain. Don’t worry. I’ll bring them in.” He nodded to Sisuthros before remounting the horse and cantering away.
Eskkar turned to Sisuthros. “Have men ready to greet them. You, too, Grond. Make sure you stop by and speak with them. Tell them you’re looking to purchase the finest foods and wine for me.”
“Yes, Captain.” The two men spoke the words together. They discussed this last night and again early this morning. But Sisuthros knew his captain well. Eskkar would go over orders again and again, as much to make sure he hadn’t forgotten something than to see if Sisuthros or the other subcommanders remembered them.
Another shout made them all look up again. A pair of riders had crested one of the low hills to the south, each of them leading a pack animal. Both the men and beasts looked as though they had traveled hard.
Eskkar stared at the two riders, one of whom looked familiar.
“It’s Drakis,” Grond said, identifying the man first. “He should have been here last night.”
“Who’s that with him?” Sisuthros asked.
That question was answered quickly enough, and by Drakis himself, as soon as he dismounted and drank half a skin of water. The four leaders took him aside, all of them eager to hear what tidings he brought.
“Captain Eskkar,” Drakis began, wiping the water from his chin with the back of his hand, “Lady Trella sends her greetings and wishes you success at Bisitun.”
“Trella is well?” Almost ten days had passed since Eskkar had last seen her.
“Very well, Captain. She asked me to remind Grond to keep you safe and out of trouble.”
“I will try and take care of myself, Drakis,” Eskkar answered dryly.
Somehow her concern made him feel proud, not embarrassed. “What else did she say?”
“Only that she wished you a speedy return. And she suggested Gatus send another man with me, with a second pack horse. So we’ve brought you twelve skins of oil, three bags of cotton, and all the ropes we could carry.
The extra supplies slowed us down, or we’d have arrived yesterday.”
Eskkar hadn’t expected so much. Leave it to Trella to make sure he got double what he asked for. And he should have thought of sending two men. If one of the horses got injured, there would have been a delay in getting him what he needed. “And everything is well in Akkad?”
“Yes, and Dilgarth, too,” Drakis said, anticipating Eskkar’s next question. “There’s no sign of any bandits remaining in the area, and the village seems to be recovering. Corio and Nicar are sending more men there, and Gatus sent a few more soldiers for protection. No doubt they’ve already arrived. With the extra men, Dilgarth will begin rebuilding the palisade and irrigation ditches, and helping the flax weavers get started again. Nicar says there is a great shortage of linen in Akkad.”
“Good. Very good,” Eskkar said, pleased to hear that Dilgarth remained safe and secure. He turned to Sisuthros. “We can begin the next part of the plan.”
Grond turned to Drakis. “What about this other man? Who is he?”
“Rukor? He’s one of the new men Gatus is training.” Drakis seemed surprised at the sudden interest. “He’s good with horses. We would’ve been even later without him.”
Eskkar looked over toward the pack animals, where Rukor and some of the liverymen from the camp had already stripped the tired animals of their burdens and started rubbing them down. Eskkar didn’t know this man and didn’t want to take any chances. “We’ll have to get rid of him. Rukor!
Come here!”
The shout made Rukor turn, and he jogged over to where his leaders stood. “Yes, Lord Eskkar,” he said, as he bowed. An older man, Rukor looked to have more than thirty seasons. He had never spoken with Eskkar before and knew little about Akkad’s leader.
“Rukor, Drakis says you’ve done well,” Eskkar said, “but I want you back on a horse and on your way back to Akkad. I have an urgent message for my wife. You will tell her… tell her that we are encamped outside of Bisitun and waiting.”
Rukor looked both confused and disappointed. No doubt he expected to get at least a few days’ rest before climbing back on a horse. And the message didn’t seem particularly urgent or important.
Eskkar turned to Grond. “Give Rukor two silver coins as a reward.”
A week’s pay would make the man feel a little better. While Grond hunted in his belt for the coins, Eskkar went on. “Rukor, Drakis says you can be trusted, so I ask you to leave at once. Get a fresh horse and take whatever you need. And tell no one what message you carry. Do you understand?”
Grond put the coins in Rukor’s hand before the man could answer.
“Come with me, Rukor.” He put his arm around the uncomprehending man’s shoulder and started him moving. “I’ll make sure you get a good horse and plenty of food.”
When the two of them were gone Eskkar turned back to Drakis. “Now I need you to do something important, Drakis. Listen carefully. You’re going to deliver the rest of the message Gatus sent to me. The message is that Gatus and a hundred and twenty men will be here in four or five days.
Do you understand?”
Drakis’s mouth fell open. There had been no other message. “But Captain, Gatus did not…”
“Listen to me, Drakis,” Eskkar went on patiently, keeping his voice low. “This is very important. Gatus told you that he and a hundred and twenty men will be here in four or five days. That’s what he told you to tell me.” Eskkar waited a moment, to let that sink in. “Now, Drakis, tell me what message you carry from Gatus?”
Drakis looked from Eskkar to Sisuthros, who grinned broadly at the man’s confusion. “Tell Eskkar what Gatus told you, Drakis,” Sisuthros encouraged. “Go on, deliver the message from Gatus.”
Now both Eskkar and Sisuthros waited, smiles on their faces. Drakis turned back to Eskkar. “Uh, Captain… Gatus said… that he and a hundred and twenty men would be here in four or five days.”
“Very good, Drakis,” Eskkar said. “Now remember well what Gatus told you. You must believe the words and say them as if it were true.
When you’re with the men, someone will ask you what message you carried. You will tell them what Gatus said, just as you told me. I want our men to believe that more soldiers are coming. You must believe it yourself, so that they will believe you. Can you do that, Drakis? If you can’t, then you’ll need to get on a horse with Rukor. The men have to believe reinforcements are coming.”
“I can do it, Captain,” Drakis answered determinedly. “I’m not sure what these words mean, but I can do it.”
“Understanding is not required, Drakis,” Eskkar said, but softened the words with a smile. “Just follow your orders. Believe the message yourself, and you’ll have no trouble convincing any of the men. Now, let’s go over it again.”
Eskkar made Drakis repeat the message half a dozen times, until the words fell smoothly off his tongue. Finally Eskkar dismissed Drakis, letting him rejoin the men so he could get something to eat. The other men would ask for news of Akkad, and sooner or later, Drakis would “confirm”
Gatus’s message. Rukor had already departed, on his way back to Akkad, carrying a useless message that would raise Trella’s eyebrows and make Gatus think his captain had lost his wits.
“Well, Captain,” Sisuthros said, “it’s as you said. The men will believe Drakis. And I expect the local farmers will be here soon. They know we’ve arrived, and that we’ll need food.”
“You deal with them personally when they arrive, Sisuthros. They’re important to the plan. Remember to pay them fairly for whatever they bring, but no more. If we start paying too much…” Eskkar glanced around the camp. “Now it’s time for Grond and me to take our little ride around the village, while you do your part.”
Moments later, after Eskkar had mounted his horse, a ragged cheer went up from the men. Sisuthros had just told the soldiers that Gatus and more men were on the way, to bolster their numbers. And should anyone ask Drakis, he would confirm that he had indeed delivered that message.
In Bisitun, men would start wondering about the cheering. Eskkar nodded in satisfaction.
With ten soldiers riding behind him, Eskkar started his survey of the village. First they rode slowly to the west, stopping often to examine the land, always keeping at least a quarter mile from the village. When they reached the river, they paused for nearly a half hour as Eskkar studied the land, the river, and the southwestern approach to the village before they began to retrace their steps. They quickened their pace as they passed behind their own encampment, then slowed down again and leisurely inspected the northeastern outskirts of Bisitun until they reached the river once again. As before, Eskkar took his time, studying the landscape, before they rode slowly back to the encampment.
They had been gone nearly two hours and during that time, the walls of Bisitun had been filled with men, not only soldiers but villagers as well, all of them nervous and curious as to what the men from Akkad were planning. Shading his eyes, Grond picked out the man with the silver arm bracelets who followed them along the palisade from one side of the village to the other.
“Well, we got their attention, Captain,” Grond said, as they dismounted and handed the horses off. “And Sisuthros makes good progress in building the ditch. It looks finished.”
“Let’s take a turn around the camp, just to see how it looks.”
They walked slowly around the encampment but found no fault with either the ditch or the rampart. While a good rider on a strong horse might leap the six-foot-wide ditch, the animal would be jumping directly into the mound of dirt and would probably bury itself to the shoulder into the soft earth. The ditch and the earthen embankment would slow down men on foot even more. They would have to jump into the ditch, then endeavor to climb up the rampart’s side, into the teeth of the defenders’ bows and swords. Satisfied that his position couldn’t be taken, Eskkar strode back inside the camp, thinking that, if Gatus were here, he would be pleased as well.
Eskkar repeated the inspection from behind the rampart, taking his time as he paced around the camp. The soldiers looked cheerful now, with the possibility of a fight delayed. They would have a few days’ rest before Gatus and his men arrived. With another hundred men, they knew they could easily storm the village.
Eskkar spoke to many of them, always asking if they understood their orders and knew what their posts were in an emergency, always trying to remember as many of their names as he could. He wanted them to know that he depended on them. And that this wasn’t the time for them to relax or forget their vigilance.
He had just finished checking the ranks when Sisuthros approached.
“Captain, here come the first of the farmers.”
Coming slowly down the road Eskkar saw three small farm carts, each pushed or pulled by two farmers. Either these farmers had no draft animals, or they feared the soldiers would confiscate them, a likely enough occurrence with Ninazu’s men. “Well, at least we’ll have fresh food for tonight.”
“Do you want to meet with them?”
“No. Let them get used to dealing with you, both now and in the future. Say that I am too busy to deal with farmers. Don’t forget to tell them we’ll need a great deal more food in a few days.”
“Do you think there will spies in this group, Captain?”
“No, not this group,” Eskkar said, taking a moment to consider. “Perhaps not even the next one. But when the third group arrives… then I think we’ll have some spies or farmers relying on Ninazu’s pay.”
Eskkar walked away from the rear gate and watched from a distance as the nervous farmers approached the camp. Sisuthros halted them outside the rear embankment, then spent half an hour haggling with them.
At first the local inhabitants looked fearful, afraid of their goods being confiscated, or themselves taken as slaves or laborers. But with Ninazu’s men taking what they wanted without paying, these farmers needed the copper coins, and their need had driven them to take the chance. So far none of these strangers from Akkad had looted anyone or raided the local farmhouses, so perhaps, after all, they would deal honestly.
That night Eskkar enjoyed good wine with his dinner, along with nuts and fresh bread. The farmers had departed, scarcely able to conceal their joy. They’d received a decent sum for their goods and they promised to spread the word, and that more food would arrive tomorrow morning.
Once again, Eskkar muttered thanks to the gods for Trella’s advice.
She had given him a good supply of their precious silver to win over the goodwill of the local farmers. In the old days he would have simply taken what he needed from them, no doubt in much the same way that Ninazu had. Now Eskkar understood how that would alienate them and work against him in the long run. For the next few days, he needed their help, even if unwittingly given.
Sisuthros’s men kept a sharp lookout during the night, the soldiers on alert for any attack from the village. But as Eskkar expected, nothing happened. The morning sun found the land empty around them, though the sun hadn’t climbed much above the horizon before a ragged column of carts, wagons, and individuals carrying whatever they could manage appeared on the road from the south. The day’s trading would begin early.
Eskkar resisted the urge to join Sisuthros. His commander knew what needed to be done.
After breakfast, Eskkar took Grond, Mitrac, Hamati, and half a dozen other senior men to a corner of the camp and they planned their next move. The meeting didn’t last long. As soon as it broke up, Hamati put twenty men back to work, ten on each side of the encampment. They began digging out two new ditches. These would extend from either side of the camp, along the lines Eskkar had marked out yesterday.
The men had been told that Eskkar wanted to extend the ditch-to accommodate all the reinforcements Gatus would bring, and to enclose the extra food and horses. He’d told them little more, except that they could take their time and that they would be relieved every two hours.
With a secure main encampment already established, Eskkar felt certain the new ditches would raise plenty of questions inside Bisitun.
Sisuthros spent the morning with the farmers as they arrived. In the beginning, as he had done yesterday, he kept them out of the camp. But soon the numbers of eager farmers multiplied, all arguing and pleading with him and the clerks, and Sisuthros grew careless. Some farmers carried their goods inside the camp, seeking private purchasers. Others, their trading completed, just wandered in, to satisfy their curiosity regarding Eskkar and the Akkadians.
Only the wine and ale remained outside the camp, away from the soldiers, except for the lucky scribes who got to taste the goods in order to determine the quality and the price. Eskkar had given clear instructions on that issue. Sisuthros had assigned his most trustworthy men to guard the wineskins. If the men got at the strong spirits, half of them would be drunk within the hour and useless the rest of the day.
The sun had climbed high into the morning sky before Sisuthros got rid of the last of the farmers and rejoined his captain. “By the gods, Captain, I hate dealing with merchants and farmers! Every one of them wanted to argue about the price, each claiming his loaf of bread or chicken was worth double what we offered.”
“I told you it would be harder than you thought. Still, you’d better get used to it. Are they coming back?”
“Yes, there will be more this afternoon. But it went well, I think.”
“Good. Now, tell me what you learned about Ninazu.”
“Grond was right, Eskkar. He’s the one with the silver bracelets. They are afraid of him, that’s plain enough. He’s killed anyone who’s opposed him. They’d be happy if we drive him away.”
Eskkar nodded grimly at that. “Yes, that would please everyone. Now, tell me what else you learned.”
Part of buying and selling was talking. The farmers felt curious about the soldiers and the new city of Akkad, and seemed willing to offer up information about Ninazu. In his turn, Sisuthros had described to them how wonderful life had become in Akkad, now that the barbarians had been vanquished, never to return again, and prosperity restored under Eskkar’s enlightened and just rule. Sisuthros related the tale of the defeat of the barbarians three times, each version with more detail than the time before.
Some of the farmers looked skeptical, but the individual soldiers, once they’d begun dealing with them, helped convince the farmers.
As for Ninazu, none of them knew for sure, but after much prodding from Sisuthros and the scribes, it seemed as though Ninazu had at least a hundred and twenty fighting men. As the story went, the bandit leader had waited until the village had started to reestablish itself after the passing of the barbarians. When the villagers had trickled back to their homes and farms, Ninazu had sent a few of his men into Bisitun to spy on the inhabitants.
Then, only a month ago, he and at least fifty men had suddenly ridden into the village. He’d killed the two village elders who had returned to their homes, then executed a few more brave souls who resisted or spoke out against him. At fi rst Ninazu’s men had taken what they wanted, but in the last two weeks, he’d begun restraining his followers, trying to win over the villagers and gain their support. Despite his harsh treatment of the villagers, Ninazu now had plenty of men, many of them recruited from the local countryside, while others had ridden in from the west, eager to join up and seduced by tales of easy plunder.
Eskkar knew well that old story, one he had experienced himself not so long ago, though the less anyone learned about his past the better. He didn’t feel sorry for what he had done. Instead he felt embarrassed by the fact he and his raiders, half drunk and still hung over from too much ale, had been taken by surprise. A band of barbarian warriors had secretly watched him capture a village and plunder it for two days, before they swooped down on him and his band, overwhelming them in moments.
His luck had saved him again. He’d escaped, clinging to his horse and fleeing for his life, most of his men killed or captured, the rest scattered to the winds. He put that uncomfortable memory out of his mind.
“Good work, Sisuthros. Just make sure you don’t make it too easy for them. Let them pick up scraps of information from the men.”
“We’ve been very careful, Captain. The scribes are talking freely, though they still record every sale, and the price we pay.”
Eskkar frowned at that. He couldn’t get away from the ever-present scribes, who spent their lives counting and recording, not only men and animals, but bags of grain, loaves of bread, the numbers of swords and bows. Already one pack animal groaned under its load of small clay tablets.
“You’ll have to deal with the scribes. Remember, Trella and Nicar will check every item as well. So take care, or they’ll take any losses out of our pay.”
That remark brought a grin to both men. Eskkar had no more coins in his purse today than when he’d first wandered into Akkad. And the only pay Sisuthros would see remained inside Bisitun, still waiting to be earned. The village would first have to be taken, then nursed back to prosperity before Sisuthros saw any gold for himself. But he would rule here, in Eskkar’s name, and both men understood that, in time, the gold would come.
Sisuthros stayed with Eskkar until midafternoon, when the next ragged column of farmers appeared on the road. This group, about twenty-five men and ten women, was larger than the one this morning. Most of the same farmers had returned, their carts once again loaded with bread, fruit, vegetables, a scrawny chicken or two, and even a few skins of strong wine.
Some of the women carried very little, and Eskkar guessed that what they had for sale was not necessarily what they carried in their baskets. Well, a little business of that kind wouldn’t hurt his men, except in their purses.
Sisuthros repeated the process from the morning. At first he held the farmers outside the camp, until the press of business and time made discipline relax and he let them deliver their goods inside. There they mingled with the soldiers, everyone still curious about each other. This time Eskkar thought one or two of the strangers had looked toward him with more than idle curiosity.
The afternoon trading lasted almost two hours, before Sisuthros finally got the last one out of the camp and on his way. A few of the women wanted to remain, and Sisuthros had to line up the men to make sure they were all truly gone. Afterward, he had to deal with the scribes for a few moments before he joined Grond and Eskkar.
“By the gods, if I had to do that every day, I’d fall on my sword!”
Sisuthros exclaimed. “I’m beginning to hate all traders and merchants.
And the whores! Thank the gods they won’t be back tomorrow.” The farmers had been told not to come back until the day after tomorrow. The men from Akkad now had more than enough supplies to last a few days.
“You won’t do very well running Bisitun with that attitude,” Eskkar commented. “Did any of them seem unusual?”
“Yes, Captain. There were two or three that looked a little different.
One had soft hands and looked as if he hadn’t farmed in some time. He kept looking around and asking the scribes plenty of questions.”
“I noticed that one, wandering through the camp and talking to the men.” Eskkar knew it would take the spy or spies several hours to get back into Bisitun, now that Eskkar’s men blocked the main road. Informers would have to go upriver a bit, then hug the riverbank until they reached the village. Or if they had a boat readied, they could float down to Bisitun.
Either way, by this evening Ninazu would have his report. He would know his opponent’s camp was strong and secure, the men confident and relaxed, and that a large group of reinforcements would be joining up soon.
Now Eskkar wondered what Ninazu would do with the information.
Ninazu’s choices would be limited. He could try and wait it out inside the village, trusting to his palisade to stop the Akkadians. The problem with that plan was that if Eskkar really had almost two hundred men and the skill to use them effectively, Ninazu wasn’t likely to stop them. And once his followers learned of the coming reinforcements, the fi ght would go out of many of them. They hadn’t joined up with Ninazu to cross swords in a close, desperate battle for Bisitun. No, they sought after easy loot, not a death fight.
Another choice for Ninazu would be to slip across the river. That way would always be open to him. But Ninazu wouldn’t want to leave a big, wealthy village behind, one that would immediately be fortified against him. He would then be in the position of trying to keep a motley group of bandits together in lands already plundered, while having no secure base of operations. The Akkadians would start hunting him within days, while his men would start lusting after Ninazu’s personal booty. That choice wouldn’t look too attractive to Ninazu either.
As Eskkar saw it, that left Ninazu with only one other course of action-attack the Akkadians before the reinforcements arrived, overwhelm them, and take their weapons. Faced with such a defeat, the supposed reinforcements might turn back. At the least, Ninazu would be no worse off than he was now. A victory might even give his men the courage and resolve to resist another group of besiegers.
The rider had come from Akkad only yesterday, and it would be dark before news of the “reinforcements” reached Bisitun. It wasn’t likely Ninazu could get his men ready on such short notice to attempt anything tonight. Eskkar intended to keep the pressure on Ninazu, to continue forcing him to react as Eskkar wanted. Tonight, the next step of the plan would begin, the one that would draw the noose around Ninazu even tighter.