Pharaoh's Gold

by Nathaniel Burns

  Shabaka nodded before turning to Kare, and spoke loudly, “Can we speak outside? Where it is not so noisy.”

  The man looked towards the Master Craftsman who nodded, before again shouting, “You are to go with them and show them where Geris lives.”

  “But he was not there this morning.” Kare said, confused.

  The Master Craftsman made to speak, however Shabaka quickly cut him short. “We just need to see his home.”

  Kare looked from one to the other before he said, “Something has happened to him.”

  Neti placed a hand on Shabaka’s arm, causing him to look at her. Neti gestured with her head, causing Shabaka to look about the room. Most of the craftsmen were looking at them.

  “I think it is best if we discuss this someplace else,” Neti calmly said and then started towards the door.

  Shabaka, the Master Craftsman, and Kare followed her lead. They were about half way to the gilded doors when a piecing scream filled the room causing everyone to turn in its direction.

  “You fool,” a harsh call followed.

  “Maybe you should pay attention to what you are doing and not the wiggly bits of a woman!” Another said while the man continued to scream.

  The Master Craftsman made his way towards the man by simply pushing others out of the way while Shabaka and Neti followed in his wake.

  A younger crafter was screaming writhing on the floor holding on to his leg.

  “The fool bumped into one of the glass smelters,” one of the men said as the Master Craftsman reached them.

  “Get him outside and pour water over it.” The Master Craftsman harshly instructed before pointing to another. “Go call a healer, he is going to need some essence of flower or he will scream the roof off.”

  Two others quickly lifted the man and led him past Neti and Shabaka while the man continued wailing. He tried to grab at his leg although the others tried to prevent him as they moved him towards the door. The stench of singed flesh hung in the air and Neti, for a moment, checked the glob of cooling glass that had fallen on the ground. One of the men must have noticed the direction of her gaze and quickly poured a bucket of sand over it and screamed, “Bring the scoop!” Neti for a moment looked after the men conveying the man out and suddenly felt an intense sense of nausea overcome her.

  “Neti!” Shabaka said quickly grabbing at her arms and pulling her upright.

  With flaying arms she stuttered, “Need to get outside.”

  Without thought, Shabaka lifted her and stared for the nearest exit. A few paces from the doorway, he again put her down and remained next to her as she took deep gulps of air.

  “What is the matter?” Shabaka asked, concerned.

  Neti shook her head, “I don’t know. The smell of burnt flesh seemed to catch me off guard.”

  Shabaka looked at her in concern, “But you have smelt worse? Even that oil of vitriol stuff smells worse.”

  “I’m usually prepared for such odors.” Neti said, restoring herself.

  Shabaka hovered over her, “I think you need to see a healer.”

  “I’m fine Shabaka, just somewhat horrified.” Neti said, adding a smile in hope of easing Shabaka’s concerns.

  “Horrified? How?” Shabaka quickly demanded.

  “I had enough of a look at that man’s injury to determine that that was the manner in which they tortured Geris.”

  “Then we should question them then,” Shabaka purposely said, turning back towards the workshop.

  Neti rushed to grab his arm, “No!”

  “No?” Shabaka asked, confused, turning to look at her. “…But if that is how.”

  “We understand the how, we have no idea as to who did it.” Neti quickly said

  “What do you mean?” Shabaka asked, visibly confused.

  “Who are we going to question? All of the smelters? We don’t even know if they are all here, or even if the person still practices here.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “For all we know, the person who killed Geris could only have merely completed an apprenticeship here. And if you suddenly start to question everyone, it could act as a warning or could get them killed.”

  “So, we should just leave it?” Shabaka angrily asked.

  “We’re not leaving it. We have established how the marks were made. But as I said last night, the person who used the tool is skilled in its use. They are not necessarily experienced in extracting information from someone. And as with the whippers of the court, the person applying the torture may not even be the person we are really seeking.”

  Shabaka looked at her in confusion.

  “Like the whippers of Ramesses court. They do not decide who to whip; they are told to do so by either Ramesses or someone with the authority.”

  Shabaka nodded, “We should be looking for the person who instructed for the torture to occur.”

  “You said that Geris came to you claiming that gold was going missing. My suspicion is that they tried to get from him exactly what he had told you, or how much he could possibly know about the gold.”

  “That makes sense,” Shabaka said. “But it still gives us nothing to really work with.”

  “We have Kare.” Neti stated indicating back to the craft hall, “He worked closely with Geris. Geris may even have told him things.”

  “He’s nearly deaf, what would he hear? You heard how loud they had to talk to him.” Shabaka said.

  “That may be so, but he also works here and should know if Geris was at odds with anyone.” Neti countered.

  “I’ll go get him so he can show us where Geris lived.” Shabaka said, but suddenly turned to her, “Are you going to stay here?”

  Neti nodded.

  They were mostly silent for the trip to Geris’s home. Both Neti and Shabaka found Kare an easy person who spoke little and seemed to care even less for pressing anything on them.

  They passed several blocks and walked up numerous streets before Kare finally came to a standstill in front of a house. “This is Geris’s home,” he calmly declared.

  Neti looked at the door. It was made of a coarser wood than the others and appeared stained in one area.

  Shabaka walked up to the wooden door and knocked.

  “I don’t think anyone would answer,” Kare said, his voice softer than one would have anticipated causing Shabaka to turn towards him. “No one other than him lives here.” Kare added.

  “You do not have a difficulty in hearing?” Neti stated, however her voice was only slightly elevated.

  “In the craft hall, with all the hammering, it is hard to hear things. But out here, when it is quiet, it is easier.” Kare said

  “What can you tell us of Geris?” Shabaka asked.

  “He’s dead, isn’t he?” Kare asked.

  Neti nodded. “And we need your help to find the person responsible.”

  Kare looked from Shabaka to Neti, his expression turning into one of disbelief before he asked, “Why would you care about his death? Many men die in the pharaoh’s service.”

  Neti looked at Shabaka, her expression hesitant.

  “He came to me with some information,” Shabaka finally said.

  Kare shook his head before replying, “Let me guess. It had something to do with the gold.”

  “You know about this?” Shabaka asked.

  Kare shrugged his shoulders, “We all noticed it, but he was the most spoken about it.”

  “Wait, I don’t understand,” Neti said, obviously confused. “If you all knew about it, why not say anything?”

  “What was there to say?”

  “You are bound by duty to the pharaoh.” Shabaka said.

  “Yes and it was the pharaoh who wanted more gold objects.” Kare replied.

  “Wait!” Neti said, holding her hands up. “I think we are talking about two very different things here.” She dropped her hands and turned to Kare. “What was Geris always talking about?”

  Kare looked from Neti to Shabaka before he spoke. “G
eris, like me, is a gold beater. Or I should say, he was the gold beater that worked with me. We work in teams of two: he is responsible for beating the gold and I heat it to make it more pliable.” Kare looked at Neti before continuing. “It is very delicate and specialized work, because if you heat the gold too much, it might melt, but some heat is needed to hammer it thin. Geris is, well was one of the best gold beaters in the craft hall. He could beat gold until it was as thick as a papyrus blade, and because of that, he was the first to complain when the Craft Master demanded that he still beat the same size sheets but with almost half of the new gold.”

  “New gold?” Shabaka asked, confused.

  “That gold they heat in those containers… It’s turned into a brighter gold.”

  “Yes, the Master Craftsman showed us the process,” Shabaka said.

  “Geris did not like the new gold?” Neti asked.

  “I don’t think he had a problem with the gold; he did say that it worked better. His problem was that that they always wanted him to produce thinner sheets. But I never thought they would kill him for his complaints.”

  Shabaka looked at Neti who asked, “How well did you know Geris?”

  “As well as any of the others, I would say. He changed after the death of his wife and son.”

  “Changed how?” Shabaka asked.

  “He mostly kept to himself,” Kare said, once again looking from Neti to Shabaka and back again.

  “Explain please” Neti invited.

  “He did not join in matters as much as the others. He would spend his barter grain and coins on irrelevant things.”

  “What will we find inside his home?” Shabaka asked, indicating to the door.

  “Not much, he would only sleep here. There are a few pieces of furniture and a sleeping mat.”

  “What would he eat?” Shabaka asked.

  “He had an arrangement with one of the beerhouses to provide him with a mug of beer and a meal everyday. He would pay them whenever we were paid.” Kare hesitantly looked towards Neti as he added, “He also used the services of one of the female servers.”

  Neti nodded but said nothing in reply.

  Shabaka turned to the door and pushed it open. “Best get this over with then.”

  “Are you allowed to do that?” Kare asked, alarmed.

  “He’s dead, and as long as Geris is not hiding anything in here, actually even if he was, we no longer need his permission to enter,” Shabaka said stepping inside.

  The home was dusty, almost empty. Had they not been forewarned, Neti would have thought no one had lived there for some time.

  Shabaka turned to Neti and asked, “You want to access the roof kitchen?”

  Neti only nodded and turned to make her way up the short flight of stairs to the rooftop kitchen. But as with the rest of the home, it was devoid of any signs of life. So much so that Neti would have thought they were in the wrong home, were it not for the items that were precisely placed. The entire area it appeared as if it had remained untouched since the death of his wife, as if the area was a shrine.

  Neti retraced her steps and joined Shabaka in the main living room.

  “Anything?” Shabaka asked.

  Neti shook her head.

  “There are some signs of disturbance in the bed chamber, but nothing else.”

  “You, think someone was here then?” Neti asked.

  “No, the disturbances are more in line with someone living there.”

  “So he mostly kept to his work and bed chamber,” Neti said and then looked at Kare. “Do you know of anyone he could have had an argument with or owed any money?”

  Kare thought it over for several moments before replying, “No, he kept to himself and, as you can see, he had little need for earthly things.”

  “Thank you, Kare,” Shabaka said, “You should return to the craft hall. If we need any more information, we know where to find you.”

  They waited until Kare had left before Shabaka turned to Neti and said, “I feel like a hunter chasing a lizard’s tail after the lizard has run off.”

  Neti looked at him for a moment and then tilted her head sidewise before saying, “While I can understand your frustration, I don’t understand the reason for it.”

  Shabaka indicated to the room and flatly stated. “We are getting nowhere. I don’t even know if I should believe this man’s claim that gold has gone missing.”

  Neti remained silent for several moments before stating, “You are afraid that this is diverting your attention from something else.”

  “No!” Shabaka firmly declared. “I’m afraid that like the gem thieves, these people are extremely clever and just as well organized,” Shabaka turned to Neti, his shoulders drooping as he continued. “…and that I cannot see, cannot figure out whose tale I should trust.”

  “You always told me to first follow my instincts,” Neti said, reaching out and placing a hand on his arm. “What are yours telling you?”

  Shabaka looked at Neti for several moments, “I think the Master Craftsman is involved somehow.”

  “Then we speak with Ramesses and arrange for him to be taken to the holding chambers and have his home investigated. If not for the gold, for one of his people having been murdered.”

  “And what if it is not him?”

  “Then he will be free to go. We are, after all, only following the clues we have.”

  10

  Chapter Ten

  The following morning, Neti and Shabaka made their way to the craft hall with two of the palace guards. On their arrival, most of the doors of the hall had already been thrown wide open, with the noise inside already having reached oppressing levels.

  One of the apprentices saw them approach and tried to stop them, holding his hands stretched out before him, “Today is not a good day and the Master Craftsman is busy.”

  The palace guards, however, simply moved him out of the way as they continued into the hall.

  They had hardly entered the hall when the Master Craftsman angrily addressed them. “Have you not disturbed me and my workers enough with your vexing questions? Can you not see that I have greater concerns to address that your endless questions?” He wanted to continue but Shabaka cut him short by raising his hand and glaring at the man.

  “These men are to accompany you to the holding chambers within the palace, where you will be kept until such time as we have concluded our investigation.”

  “You are taking me captive?” The Master Craftsman exclaimed, appalled.

  “You are to remain there until we have satisfied the claims against you,” Shabaka repeated, his tone firm.

  The guards moved to either side of the Master Craftsman and gestured for him to move, one guard firmly stating, “It will be better and easier for you to come willingly.”

  The Master Craftsman turned to look at Shabaka and firmly stated, “You will not find anything.”

  Shabaka only calmly replied, “You don’t even know what we are looking for.” Before gesturing for the guards to take the man away.

  Shabaka then turned to Neti, who in turn said, “You are all to continue with your duties except…” She glanced over the room and then pointed to one of the men, “…you. You are going to accompany us to the Craft Master’s home.”

  The man at first looked about him in confusion, before one of the others pushed him forward, “she probably chose you because you have the most clothes on.”

  The man approached them and Shabaka demanded, “You have a name?”

  “Zab,” The man hesitantly said.

  “Well Zab, do you know where the Master Craftsman lives?”

  The man nodded then started for the door as he said, “I will show you.”

  They followed Zab along the streets of the city, towards the outskirts where the larger estates were located.

  “I never realized the craft masters lived in such opulent homes.” Neti said as they approached the larger estates, each property included several buildings and vast gardens.


  “He is the Master Craftsman, he holds rank not far below…” Shabaka said but then suddenly went quiet.

  “What is it?” Neti asked.

  “I will tell you later.” Shabaka dismissed as they approached one of the smaller villas.

  The property was not as highly maintained as the others and had several children busy in the gardens.

  “I count nine children,” Neti said as they approached the large house.

  There was another outbuilding to the side and Shabaka said, “With possibly another youngster looking after the goats or sheep.”

  “That does not make any sense,” Neti said as they stopped for a moment and she looked around.

  “What?”

  “This is an estate. But why would he keep animals when he is a craftsman?” Neti asked.

  “With possibly ten children and who knows how many wives to feed, I could understand the need,” Shabaka said.

  Neti remained silent for several moments before replying, “I can also understand the need, but why remain on an estate, certainly the pharaoh would allow him to move his family elsewhere, possibly somewhere more suitable.

  “The Master Craftsman likes living here,” Zab stated, causing both Shabaka and Neti to look at him. “Besides, there seems to be enough space.”

  Neti turned to Shabaka and only lifted her brow, however Shabaka turned to the man and said, “You can return to the hall now.”

  They waited for him to leave before Neti spoke, “I’d almost forgotten about him.”

  “You know what I find strange?” Shabaka asked.

  “What?”

  “The fact that none of the men who act as our guides or escorts seem talkative. It is almost as if they have instructions form the hall not to speak, to only listen,” Shabaka said as he raised his hand to knock on the door.

  “He doesn’t know you, and I did just select him from a hall full of crafters. He could simply be shy…”

  Neti was interrupted when the door opened to reveal a woman, similar in age to the Master Craftsman. She looked both of them over even before they had the opportunity to speak.

  “The pharaoh’s prefects knocking at the door cannot bode good news,” She said as a method of greeting. Her voice remained neutral.