Dawn of Empire (4 page)

Somewhat refreshed, Esk kar looked up, surprised to see the sun so high. Demons below, he must have drunk a whole skinful of that bitter date wine. He cursed himself for being a fool.

When Esk kar turned away he saw a handful of guards, men who should have been busy at their daily tasks, standing uneasily near him. “Where is Ariamus?” he asked no one in particular, his voice sounding hoarse in his ears. Ariamus, captain of the guard, maintained the few laws of Orak and defended the village from bandits and marauders.

“Ariamus is gone,” a gray - bearded veteran answered, spitting in the dirt to show his disgust. “He’s run off, taken a dozen men with him, as well as extra horses and arms. The talk in the market says that barbarians are heading south, coming toward Orak.”

Esk kar let the words penetrate as he studied their faces. He saw fear and uncertainty, mixed in with the shock of losing their master. No wonder they looked toward him. If Ariamus had run off, then Esk kar would be in charge, at least until a new captain could be chosen. That would explain the summons from Nicar.

The grinning messenger plucked at Esk kar’s tunic. He refused to hurry, taking his time to draw another bucket from the well. He washed his hands and face before returning to the barracks to lace on his patched and worn sandals. Only then did he follow the boy through the winding streets to the imposing mud - brick and stone house of Nicar, Orak’s leading merchant and foremost among the Five ruling Families that dictated the daily com-ings and goings of the village.

The youth pulled Esk kar past the gatekeeper and into the house, then guided him up the narrow steps to the upper rooms. The house seemed quiet, with none of the usual visitors waiting their turn to see the busy merchant.

Nicar stood on the tiny balcony that looked out over the village. Quite a bit shorter than Esk kar, the gray - haired merchant carried the extra weight around his middle that marked him as a man of wealth.

Esk kar grunted something he hoped sounded like a greeting and stood still as the most important and richest man in the village looked him over.

Esk kar realized Nicar was studying him with the same care used when selecting the best slave from a bad lot.

Nearly three years ago, Esk kar had limped into Orak, with nothing but a sword on his back and an infected leg wound. Since then he’d seen Nicar many times, but Orak’s most important person had never paid any particular attention to the tall, dark - haired subcommander who rarely spoke and never smiled.

When Nicar finished his scrutiny, he turned away and looked out over the village. Suddenly Esk kar felt uncomfortable in his shabby tunic and worn sandals.

“Well, Nicar, what do you want?” The words came out harsher than intended.

“I’m not sure what I want, Esk kar,” the merchant answered. “You know Ariamus is gone?”

Esk kar nodded.

“You may not know that the barbarians have recently crossed the Tigris, far to the north. The killing and burning have already begun there.”

It took a moment before Nicar’s words struggled through the vapors cloud-ing Esk kar’s mind. Finally he understood their meaning. So rumor spoke the truth for once. He leaned heavily against the balcony wall, aware of his aching head. His belly cramped painfully, and for a moment he thought he would vomit. Esk kar struggled to keep control of his thoughts and his stomach.

Nicar continued. “From the far north, through the foothills, then down the plain toward the river.” He hesitated, to give Esk kar time to comprehend his words. “They’re moving steadily south. It’s likely they’ll turn in this direction, though it will be months before they arrive.”

Nicar spoke calmly, but Esk kar heard a faint hint of fear and resigna-tion in his voice.

Esk kar ran his fingers through his unruly hair, then fingered the thin beard that outlined his chin. “Do you know which clan?” Even after all these years, the word
barbarian
grated on his ears.

“I believe they’re called the Alur Meriki. They may be the same clan that raided here last time.”

Esk kar grimaced. His own birth clan. Not his people anymore, not for many years, not since they’d cast him out. “The Alur Meriki are a fierce clan with many men and horses.”

“What clan are you from, Esk kar? Or is that a question I shouldn’t ask?”

“Ask what you like. But I never raided this place, if that’s what you wish to know. I had barely started riding with the warriors when they killed my family.”

“Is that what happened? Is that why you left?”

Esk kar bit his lip, cursing at himself for even mentioning his past. Even the ignorant villagers knew warriors never left their clans willingly, only in disgrace.

Nicar let the silence lengthen, until Esk kar felt compelled to answer.

“I didn’t leave, Nicar. I ran for my life. I was lucky to get away.”

“I see. You’re right, it makes no difference.”

Esk kar’s thoughts returned to the Alur Meriki. So his family’s clan marched toward Orak. No,
marched
didn’t properly convey the slow and steady movement of the steppes people. Migration came closest to a real description of the steady movement that might take months to advance but a few miles. “How long have you known of their coming, Nicar?”

Nicar stroked his gray - speckled beard. “Word came to me three days ago. I told only Ariamus. He cautioned me to tell no one for a few days while he considered how to defend the village.”

Esk kar jerked his head in derision, the sudden movement sending a wave of sharp pain through his head that made him regret the gesture.

Ariamus, as leader of the village’s small garrison, had certainly planned well. But his plans hadn’t been for the defense of the village, nor had they included Esk kar, his lowly third in command. The second in command, one of Ariamus’s fawning friends, had died a week before from the pox.

Esk kar already knew he would not be promoted. He’d never bothered to toady up to Ariamus.

Instead, two days ago Ariamus ordered Esk kar off on a chase after an inconsequential runaway slave, a task that might have taken a week except for the fortunate accident of the foolish slave breaking his leg in some rocks. Esk kar remembered the brief look of surprise on Ariamus’s face when he’d returned yesterday afternoon.

Then last night a comradely Ariamus had invited the soldiers to the tavern for wine and song, paying for the powerful spirits that kept flowing long into the night. Esk kar should have been suspicious after the first drink, since the tight - fi sted Ariamus never bought more than one mug of barley ale for any of his men. But tired, thirsty, and smug with satisfaction at recovering the slave so quickly, Esk kar hadn’t noticed. Again he cursed himself for being so easily tricked.

Esk kar’s head began to throb again, and his throat felt dry.

“Well, Nicar, what do you expect me to do? Go after Ariamus and the others? I’m sure he took the youngest and wildest men. He’s probably stolen the best horses as well. He’ll be long gone by the time we’re ready to give chase, and with a dozen fighting men he can match any force we send after him.”

The hoarseness returned to Esk kar’s voice, and he could scarcely get the last few words out.

Nicar recognized the rasp in his visitor’s throat, and called out for a servant. The same boy who’d escorted Esk kar, no doubt waiting on the steps outside, appeared at once. Nicar turned to his visitor. “Water or wine?”

Esk kar wanted wine, wanted it badly, and wanted it right now, but he’d shown enough stupidity for a while.

“Water, for a start. Perhaps wine later, eh, Nicar?” Esk kar didn’t try to conceal the sarcasm. He had lived in Orak for almost three years but had entered the fine house of Nicar only once before, and then only to deliver a message. Now Nicar offered him wine, almost with his own hand. He wondered what would come next.

While the boy poured a cup of water, Esk kar thought about the captain of the guard, who might easily have looted the village before he vanished.

Esk kar briefly wondered why his own throat hadn’t been cut. The gods knew he’d argued with Ariamus numerous times. The thought of himself lying in bed helpless, a drunken pig ready to be butchered, sent a shiver through him. Evidently Ariamus hadn’t considered him worth killing.

Esk kar drank some water, then turned back toward the balcony. Despite the grim news, the cool drink made him feel better. He remembered his manners. “Thank you, Nicar. But I ask you again. Do you want me to chase after Ariamus?”

“No, I don’t want him back. I was fool enough to trust him to defend Orak. Now I’d kill him if I could. What I want is to make the village ready for defense. We must be ready to fight off the barbarians.”

The thought of the soft merchant fighting the hard - bitten Ariamus almost made Esk kar smile. He started to speak, then hesitated, trying to think as he rubbed his hand over the rough surface of the balcony wall.

Nicar hadn’t summoned Esk kar to his home for casual conversation. No, Nicar wanted to know what could be done for Orak. More to the point, what Esk kar could do for Orak.

The thirty - odd fighting men who remained would likely follow Esk kar, at least for a while, either out of loyalty or necessity. Most had women and children in the village or had grown too old to go looting across the countryside.

Esk kar thought of his thirty - one seasons. He’d been fighting since he turned fourteen, when he’d killed his first man with a knife thrust in the back. His father, a leader of twenty, had somehow offended Maskim - Xul, the ruler of the Alur Meriki, and the punishment had been death for the whole family. Esk kar had seen his mother and younger brother die, and his sister carried off. But the man who killed his brother would never kill again. He never learned what sent Maskim - Xul’s enraged guards to his father’s tent. Esk kar managed to slip away in the darkness, never to return to the campfires of his kindred.

He would have to leave Orak. He couldn’t chance being captured. His former clansmen would kill him merely for leaving the clan. And if they remembered Esk kar’s family, his fate would be even worse.

Esk kar brought his thoughts back to the present and realized that Nicar had continued to study him.

“We’ll have to run, Nicar. Even with Ariamus and his men still here, the village would fall. Thirty, even a hundred soldiers will make no difference. If the clans are truly in migration, there will be many hundreds of warriors, maybe even a thousand.”

Esk kar shook his head at the idea. A thousand barbarians, an incredible number of fighting men, mounted and well armed, could sweep any force of mere villagers aside without pausing.

Nicar said nothing, drumming his fingers on the same stones that Eskkar still gripped. “No. We must stay. Stay and fight. Orak must be held.

If we run, there will be nothing left when we return, and we’ll have to rebuild all over again.”

He heard determination in Nicar’s words. They turned toward each other at the same moment, standing eye to eye.

“This village is mine, Esk kar. When I arrived here, Orak was hardly more than a collection of mud huts. I built it myself, along with the other Families. Twenty - seven years I’ve been here, and all of us have prospered nearly every day. Everything I have is here. Never have so many men lived before in one place, in safety, with food and drink and tools to share. Look around you, Esk kar. Do you want to return to the ways of your fathers, living in tents, fighting each day for food, killing others to take what is theirs? Or do you want to dig your food out of the earth, at the mercy of any band of murderers?”

Esk kar, like everyone else, knew what Nicar had accomplished. He also knew that the village had existed here for uncounted years before Nicar arrived. Nor had Nicar done it alone. Other powerful traders and farmers had worked closely with him to rule Orak, and together their fortunes and power had grown, until they reserved the title of “Noble” for themselves and their sons. For years, the Five Families had settled disputes and recon-ciled customs, as their Houses and influence increased.

“Nicar, I know what Orak means to you. But even if we managed to drive off a small band, they’d only return with more warriors. If the main force of the Alur Meriki comes against us …”

“No, Esk kar. I will not hear it.” Nicar’s hand smacked down on the balcony stones. “Ten years have passed since they last came. That time there was no warning. I remember how men fought to get into the boats, to get across the river. Many were trapped in the village. They became slaves or died. Those who got to the other bank, we ran until our hearts were ready to burst. When we returned, nothing remained. The huts had all been destroyed, the crops burned, the animals slaughtered and dumped in the wells. It took two years to rebuild then. Two wasted years. Do you know how long it would take us to rebuild now?”

Esk kar shook his head. Two years seemed like plenty of time to replace mud huts and plant a few more crops.

“Orak is more than twice as big as it was then. Now I think it would take five years to rebuild, assuming our trade doesn’t go to another village up or down the river. Orak might never grow so great again. I cannot waste five years, Esk kar. I will not.”

Esk kar had lived among villagers long enough to understand their fears, but to complain about raiders merely wasted breath. “Nicar, bandits from the north and east have been raiding this land for generations. Nothing can be done about it. At least this time you’ll have plenty of time to prepare your … departure.”

Nicar looked out over the village again. “You’re like all the others. They all say nothing can be done. You surprise me, Esk kar. You’re supposed to be a fighting man, and yet you’re afraid to fight.”

“Watch your words, Nicar. I have fought the Alur Meriki before. But I’m not a fool. Much as I’d enjoy killing more of them, I won’t fight where there’s no hope of winning. If there were some way to hold them off, if something could be done … but they’re just too strong. You’d be better off taking your gold and leaving.”

“No. I will not run, and I will not give my hard - earned gold to the barbarians! Better to use it to try and defend Orak. I’m too old to start over again. This village is mine, and I will stay. That is, if you can defend Orak.”