by Sam Barone
Chapter 11
Twenty-five days later . . .
When the order came to halt, Orodes breathed a sigh of relief, grateful to slide down from the horse and give his backside a rest. While the richest man in Akkad knew enough about horses for a man raised inside the city’s walls, he lacked both the skill and experience to ride day after day over rough terrain. Still and all, the trip through the steep hills and cliffs offered enough danger even for an experienced horseman. Fortunately, on this expedition, all Orodes had to do was follow the horse in front of him.
Along the long and crooked line of men and horses, riders swung down from their mounts and stretched. Orodes handed his horse’s halter to the soldier assigned to care for the animal, and walked the forty or so paces needed to reach the head of the column.
A huge jumble of fallen rocks blocked the way forward. A steep cliff rose up on his right hand side, with a sharp drop on his left. One glance told him they had reached their destination. Or rather the start of their journey. Now the hard work, Orodes’s work, would begin.
He recalled the first day he saw the mine at Nuzi, and knew that he alone of all the miners in Akkad understood how to rip the ores from the earth’s bosom. Since those days, Orodes’s skills had grown even sharper.
Others would have abandoned the Nuzi mine when the easy veins of gold played out, but he had devised a way to extract high quality silver from the ores, digging his tunnels ever deeper into the earth. Without the gold and silver that flowed from Nuzi into Lady Trella’s coffers, the Akkadian war against Sumer would have been lost.
Now Orodes was expected to save Akkad a second time. To this end, Lady Trella had plucked him once again, this time from his wealth and comfort, and sent him riding south, with a new challenge. In his absence, servants and apprentices in Nuzi would keep the silver flowing from the mine. Trella demanded an expert in working with rock and stone, chisel and hammer. Now the time for him to begin his task had arrived.
Orodes reached the head of the column and stared upward at the rocks that had, over the years, cascaded down from the cliff, making what little path they followed into the foothills impassable for the horses. Luka, the young man guiding the expedition, stood with hands on his hips, staring up at the rocks.
Orodes joined him. “Is this the place?”
“This is it.” Luka raised his hand and pointed. A bronze chisel protruded from the rock face. “There’s my mark.”
“Are you sure?”
A few soldiers standing nearby and watching with interest at the first obstacle, chuckled at Orodes’s question, and he realized that his words sounded a bit childish. Who else would have hammered a piece of bronze into a rock in the middle of nowhere? Not that Orodes cared what a bunch of soldiers believed or said. With his wealth, he could afford to ignore what others thought about him.
“Yes, this is the place.”
Luka looked barely old enough to know how to wipe his bottom, but Orodes knew the man had nineteen seasons, and probably a wife or two back in Akkad. Luka had fought as a slinger in the battle against the Alur Meriki two years ago, so Orodes had to treat him as a veteran. More important, Luka had managed to climb or crawl his way over every jumble of rocks in these foothills until he reached the Great Sea.
At least, that’s what he told King Eskkar and Lady Trella. Most travelers thought these hills impenetrable. Orodes still had his doubts about Luka’s claim.
“Well, Orodes, we’re here.” Daro, the leader of the sixty soldiers and twenty supply men that comprised the remainder of the little expedition, moved up to join Luka and Orodes. “Now it’s up to you. What do we do next?”
His mind already at work, Orodes ignored the soldier’s words. All the same, Daro’s presence on this enterprise had aroused Orodes’s curiosity. Daro’s background as an archer, and his experience with boats should have seen him assigned to some task on the river. Instead, he had received this command, that of supporting Orodes and his laborers as they dug their way to the Great Sea.
Orodes had attempted to talk to Daro about his orders, but the soldier merely smiled, and repeated the same meaningless words that Orodes had received from Trella. Namely, how important it was for Orodes to be successful. Part of Orodes wondered what Daro’s orders would be in the event of failure. But the time for those questions had passed.
Instead Orodes stared at the rocks blocking their way. They looked impassable, but he had dug his way through worse obstacles before. Ripping gold and silver ores from the bowels of the earth had taught him more than once that what seemed impossible at first glance often yielded soon enough to men’s concentrated efforts. Especially when directed by a master miner such as himself.
“I need to see what’s ahead.” Orodes moved to the boulders blocking the way, placed his hands on their surface, and examined the rocks. He recognized the quartz, of course, and more than a few slabs of hematite.
In the last two days of journeying through these foothills, he had seen the concentration of salt-bearing rocks increase, easily visible by the rapid erosion that left cracks and gaps in the cliff and streaks of white scattered across their surface. Over time, those gaps would grow, until a chunk of the cliff wall could no longer support its own weight, and then a section would come tumbling down, usually shattering into hundreds of pieces. Exactly what had happened here.
The good news, if there were to be anything good about this expedition, was that all these types of rocks could be worked. Skill and experience would be needed, but Orodes knew he had both qualities. As for the rest of the soldiers, they’d learn soon enough. He’d endured plenty of their jests and followed too many of their wearisome orders in the last sixteen days. Now they would obey his. He’d make sure they put their backs into it.
“Let’s get started.” Orodes gestured to Luka.
“Follow me.” Luka began climbing. He moved up the steep surface like a mountain goat, scarcely using his hands to help his ascent.
Orodes tried to follow his example. Before he reached a quarter of the way up, he slipped and burned the skin from his hand trying to stop his slide. Back where he started, Orodes took a deep breath, and ignored the glib mutterings behind him. That would stop soon enough. Once the work started, every soldier would be carrying rocks from dawn to dusk.
He climbed again, this time moving with greater care and making sure his feet had a firm grip for every step. Just before setting out from Akkad, Orodes had complained to his shoemaker about the high price of the thick leather sandals protecting his feet, but now he thanked the gods for the sturdy leather. Nevertheless, Orodes kept his eyes on his footing, glancing up now and then to make sure he followed in Luka’s steps.
At last Orodes, breathing hard, reached the top, about twenty-five paces above the soldiers below. Luka extended his hand down to help, and Orodes, ten seasons older and in much weaker physical condition, was not too proud to accept.
Looking around, Orodes followed the base of the cliffs into the distance. Perhaps half a mile away, he saw what appeared to be another landslide obstructed the way. They’d have to go over that one, too, but from here it looked passable. He returned his attention to the rocks beneath his feet.
Staring down, he saw the jumble of boulders, large rocks, stones, and even flat chunks of the cliff that had collapsed. About fifty paces of trail, wide enough to accommodate two horses riding side by side, would need to be cleared, perhaps more. Moving these stones would be dangerous, but from what he could see, it could be done.
For this first obstacle, the soldiers would have to start from the top. No doubt some of the subsequent blockages would have to be worked from the bottom, undermining the boulders and slabs of stone. Here, the loose fragments could simply be tossed over the side into the depths below.
Not having to carry the rocks away would save time and labor. The larger pieces would have to be broken up first. Supposedly all these soldiers understood how to use a hammer and chisel, but he knew how often fighting men lied abo
ut such claims. For the promise of an extra copper or two, they’d swear they had swum the length of the Tigris. Still, with luck, he might not lose more than a couple of men to falls or injuries.
Orodes turned to Luka. “What else is up ahead?”
“About a mile farther on, around the base of that hill, there’s another pile of rocks blocking the way.”
Orodes realized he’d asked a stupid question. Of course there would be more blockages. If the way south were easily cleared, someone would have done so years ago. Well, one obstacle at a time.
“Let’s get back down.” Orodes glanced below at the crowd of soldiers and horses beneath him, all taking their ease and staring up at him, mouths gaping open. The descent, of course, was always more dangerous than the ascent. Still he intended to get down without a fall. “You go first, and make sure I reach the trail in one piece.”
With a grin, Luka led the way, sometimes clinging to the stones with one hand while offering his other to assist Orodes. Luka’s arms, Orodes noticed, appeared almost as hard and well-muscled as any of the famed Akkadian bowmen. Despite the slinger’s help, Orodes found himself again out of breath when he slid down the last few paces.
Daro waited for them. Orodes saw that the rest of the men had already unpacked the sacks from the supply animals.
“Can we get through?” Daro stared upward at the jumble of rocks.
“Yes, of course.” Orodes tried to keep the superiority out of his voice. No sense antagonizing one of Eskkar’s favorite commanders. Daro had also fought against the Alur Meriki, and in the Battle of Isin as well. “It will take a few days to clear the path. I’ll send the first crew up now. We’ve still got plenty of daylight left. Meanwhile, the second crew can get busy expanding the trail behind us. No sense having them stand about idle.”
Some of the soldiers had once worked in quarries or mines. Before the expedition left Akkad, Orodes had satisfied himself that most of them did indeed know how to handle a hammer and chisel, and even how to split a rock. In addition, he’d brought with him five of his finest rock masons, all men skilled in mining and working with stone. Each would direct a team of eight soldiers.
In a way, the soldiers would make better workers than the usual slaves laboring in the mines. These men were stronger and disciplined, and Orodes didn’t have to waste time or manpower worrying about them running away or pretending to be ill. And with a regular supply of food promised from Akkad, none of these men would starve to death, a common fate of slaves laboring in the mines. He turned to Luka.
“Next time we climb up like that, you’ll go first and string a rope. We don’t want anyone falling down and injuring themselves before they reach the top.”
By ‘anyone,’ of course, Orodes meant himself. If another man fell and broke his neck, he could be replaced. Orodes didn’t intend to take any more chances with his own skin.
Time to get to work. He gathered his five masons and gave them their orders. They broke out their tools – finely crafted bronze hammers and chisels, thick pry bars, stout wooden pegs to help split the rocks, ropes, and sturdy shovels. With their usual efficiency, Trella’s minions had ensured that only the finest equipment, and plenty of it, traveled with the special expedition.
Standing well back, Orodes watched Luka ascend the landslide once again, this time carrying a hammer, chisels, and a length of rope. After Luka had fastened the climbing rope, Orodes instructed the men about his first rule of climbing. Once the way to the top was secured, Orodes would always be the first one up, so he could fall on something soft, like the man behind him, and Orodes would be the last one down, so that no one could fall on him.
At the top, Orodes showed his men where to start, what to do, and what not to do.
“It will take a few days to clear this mess, so work with care. Get rid of all the loose shale first.”
The men broke into teams and started. In moments, the crash of stones landing fifty paces below echoed through the hills. The most senior mason took his eight soldiers and began cracking the larger pieces of rock. First they wedged the stone in place, to hold it steady. Then a few blows from the hammer often sufficed to split the rock. For the harder stones, the men employed a chisel. In moments, dust and rock chips were flying through the air.
The hot sun, reflected off the cliff walls, soon had every man sweating. With no trees and precious little shade, the work would be even more difficult. Water, too, would be in short supply, packed in on horseback from the last stream. But Daro had assured Orodes that livery men would be arriving with fresh water every day.
Orodes supervised every activity. He’d have to do that, until he learned which men he could trust, and the extent of their abilities. Still, unlike the usual lot of sullen slaves who worked in the Nuzi mine, these soldiers were willing enough. They realized that Orodes knew what he was doing.
By mid afternoon, the men tired. Orodes ordered them down, and the next work crew sent up. Once again he instructed them on what to do, watched them work, and studied their skills. The second crew lasted until the afternoon shadows began to lengthen. He ordered a halt. No sense risking an injury by working in the fading light. As soon as the last man started down, Orodes followed, using the rope all the way.
Once again Daro waited at the bottom. “How long to clear this pile?”
Orodes knew the question wasn’t really about this obstacle. “Two or three days. Assuming the rest of the men are as competent as the first two crews who worked today. But whether we can get to the Great Sea in the next seventy days, who knows? Luka claims there are forty-four rock piles that need to be cleared.”
“Luka should know. He made the trip all the way to the sea.”
Orodes still had his doubts about that, but decided now wasn’t the time to bring them up. “Luka did it last year, Daro. New landslides may have blocked other parts of the trail, or made existing ones larger. We’re likely to bring down a few ourselves.”
“What causes these rock slides?”
Orodes lifted his hands and let them drop. “Wind, rain, snow, heat, cold, who knows? Perhaps all of those things. Or it could just be some angry demon living in the mountains, turning over in his sleep and shaking the rocks loose.” Orodes didn’t really believe in demons, but he’d seen enough strange things happen beneath the earth to not discount anything.
“It doesn’t look like you made much progress today.”
“Don’t worry about it, Daro. We’ll get as far south as we can.”
No sense trying to explain quarry work to a soldier. Orodes walked away, searching for the pack horse that held his personal baggage. He still had some bread and honey in his pouch, and he wanted to find a comfortable place to spread his blanket and enjoy his supper alone. Then he intended to get a good night’s sleep.
Two days later, the men broke through the last of the rocks, and Orodes nodded in satisfaction. He even offered a gruff word or two of praise for the men’s labors. As soon as the soldiers swept the last of the rubble off the trail, the little caravan collected its tools and resumed its march.
“Will we make it in time? If it took three days to get through this blockage . . .”
Orodes, riding at Daro’s side, considered ignoring the question. But the soldier had been pleasant enough, and Orodes didn’t want to be arguing with everyone for however long the dig lasted.
“I can’t say yet, Daro. This was the first obstacle, so we learned quite a bit about the rocks and how to move them. All the men now know what to do, so our work will go faster. Remember, not all the passages will be as difficult as this one. Some will go quicker than others. Meanwhile, when we reach the second blockage, we’ll send a small crew on ahead to the third, to begin work there. That way we’ll always be working on two obstructions at a time.”
“It still seems impossible. I mean, to get all the way to the Great Sea in such a short time.”
“Well, that’s why I’m here.” Orodes laughed, a grim sound that rolled against the cliff face.
“To make it possible. You just make sure the men have what they need, and do what they’re told.”
The soldier grunted, ending the brief conversation.
Despite his bold words, Orodes had his own doubts. After what he’d seen today, he should have started at least twenty or thirty days earlier. But Trella undoubtedly had her reasons, whatever they might be. Still, these were good men, and not afraid of hard labor. Time and the gods would tell. One down, and forty three to go.
Chapter 12
Eskkar swung down from his horse with a grunt of satisfaction. Behind him, the twenty Hawk Clan guards did the same, all of them just as grateful to be off the back of a horse. For almost a month, the King and his guards had ridden from sunup to dusk, visiting the foothills and passes of the Zagros Mountains. Eskkar had sworn to himself that he would study every patch of ground between Akkad and the Jkarian Pass.
Whatever happened in the coming war with the Elamites, he intended to know the best places to fight or defend well in advance.
For this expedition, Eskkar had brought with him Mitrac, Akkad’s Master Archer. Mitrac had wanted one more look at the Dellen Pass, in particular the place where the battle would most likely take place.
But now the day’s traveling had ended, and for once the sun still stood high in the afternoon sky. Eskkar hadn’t visited the village of Nuzi in many months. But since his return journey from the northern lands brought him within a half day’s ride of the mine, he’d allowed Mitrac to convince him that they should stop and visit both the garrison and the source of Akkad’s gold and silver coins.