by Overton, Max
"That is hard to believe," Mutaril added. "Generals are wealthy..."
"Some of them," Jebu muttered.
"...and it would take much gold to buy one. Besides, he is a creature of the Tjaty Ay. What has he to gain?"
"My fornicating gold!" Aziru slammed his fist on the table. "He'd better stay bought or I'll be looking for a new spy master."
Jebu looked as if he had taken a mouthful of vinegar. "A general will betray Kemet and his king for gold? I do not believe it. If you had promised him position or lands, maybe, but he would also know you cannot promise that." He shook his head. "I do not believe it."
"He does not believe his actions to be betrayal," Ashraz argued. "He thinks he is helping his king to a great victory." The spy master ventured a small smile. "I should mention that he hates Horemheb and Paramessu. He will do anything to bring them down."
"You are sure of this?" Jebu asked. "Nakhtmin is a traitor?"
"Oh yes. He believes that by allowing the king to be in danger, Paramessu will be compromised. Nakhtmin will then step in and rescue his master, taking Paramessu's place as general of the northern army."
"So we exchange one general for another," King Aziru said. "How does that help my cause?"
"We get rid of a capable one and replace him with one who can be bought." Jebu suddenly grinned and relaxed in his chair. "Having been bought once, he can be bought again."
"Exactly," Ashraz beamed.
"So what is the plan?" Jebu asked. "You must have some scheme in mind to engineer Nakhtmin's victory."
Ashraz sat back with his arms folded. "It is simple really. Nakhtmin will feed Nibhuruiya's pride, telling him he can win a great victory without Paramessu's help. A spy will bring word that a thousand of the enemy--us--have been seen half a day's travel inland from the Stream of Kemet. The king will lead his troops out there..."
"Ten thousand men are still formidable, even if half-trained," Jebu interrupted.
"He will have a fraction of that. Most will be farmed out to Paramessu's squads for training. The king will have no more than three thousand men with him."
"Alright, go on."
"At the last minute, Nibhuruiya invites Paramessu to view his victory, but will allow him no more than an honour guard."
"You sound very sure that Nakhtmin can manipulate the king like this."
"I am. Now, there is another thousand troops within call. As soon as the Kemetu are engaged, the other thousand attack. Paramessu will have to come to the rescue of Nibhuruiya. There is no other course of action he can take. I have archers that will target him specifically, and another group to threaten the king if he shows signs of caution. Once he falls, Nakhtmin gathers his men and the Amorite army flees the field. Nakhtmin is a hero, the king wins his victory and Paramessu is dead."
"Would it not be better to kill this Nibhuruiya Tutankhamen while you are at it? Aziru asked. "It seems like a golden opportunity."
"If the king dies, the strongest man in Kemet will take the throne. That is Horemheb. Do you want Horemheb as king of Kemet, or would you rather have a weak boy who can be manipulated by his hero general?"
Aziru grunted. "When?"
"Soon. I will draw up maps and plans for General Jebu and see that he has them within five days. I will need a steady man leading the thousand that bait the trap."
"I'll do it myself," Jebu said quietly. "Ephras can lead the force that springs the trap."
"That seems most satisfactory," Ashraz nodded. "Well, General Jebu. You have a lot to see to, as do I. I will have those maps for you before you leave Taanach."
Jebu looked at Aziru and stood as the king nodded his assent. He bowed to his monarch and the Hittite ambassador, then turned and left the room.
* * * * *
The three men sat silently until the cedar doors closed behind him. Ashraz pushed back his chair and got up. He refilled the cups with wine from the pitcher and sipped his meditatively.
"Do you think he knows?"
Aziru shook his head. "I was watching him."
Mutaril frowned, toying with his wine cup. "Knows what? What is going on?"
"I fear we have been less than honest with our general," Ashraz said. He swallowed a great gulp of wine and grimaced, as if the wine was sour. "The trap will be set and will be sprung, but Paramessu will not be the only one to die. Nibhuruiya, Nakhtmin and Jebu will all follow him into the shadows."
The Hittite ambassador's eyebrows lifted in surprise. "This was all a ruse? But what will you gain by Horemheb becoming king of Kemet."
"Horemheb is in Nubia," Ashraz said with a grin. "By the time the news reaches him and he can gather his troops, Aziru will be master of Lower Kemet and ready for anything he can throw at him."
"And...and General Jebu? You would sacrifice him? Why?"
"I tire of him." Aziru yawned and got to his feet. Mutaril slowly arose too, staring at the Amorite king. "Besides," Aziru went on, "My sister's son has come of age. I have decided to make him my general." The king yawned and stretched, then turned on his heel without another word and left the chamber.
The ambassador and the spy master stood for a while, each thinking their own thoughts. At last, Mutaril stirred. "Whose idea was this?"
Ashraz shrugged. "Which part? Aziru wants Jebu dead, for no better reason that he grows to be too good a general and the king fears he might turn his hand to higher things. Would you believe he meant to arrest him and execute him publicly? Think of the effect that would have on morale." The spy master picked at his teeth with a broken and blackened fingernail. "I dreamed up the battle though, and persuaded Aziru."
"So it is much better for morale if Jebu dies in battle?"
"Of course, particularly if the Kemetu king and general die at the same time. Jebu will be a hero...albeit a dead hero."
Ambassador Mutaril kept his face carefully neutral. "I thought Jebu was your friend."
Ashraz stared at the ambassador, his eyes opening wide. "But he is. What better service can a friend provide than a clean and honourable death? He would thank me if he knew."
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* * *
Chapter Eleven
Scarab and her small band of men arrived opposite the capital city of Wawat province, Sehotep-Neteru, within the five day target. It had been hard going the first three days as Scarab, and to a lesser extent Khu, were not as fit as they had thought themselves. Driven by pride, Scarab forced the pace, though after half a day it was evident the hardened soldiers in her group were holding back, not wanting to show her up. She threw herself down each day at sunset, barely remaining awake to eat a meal, before lying as if dead until dawn. The first hour each day brought agony until her muscles warmed and loosened and even then Scarab often thought about calling a halt, or at least slackening the pace. Each time, she caught Nebhotep's eye and with an inward groan forced herself to run just a little bit further. To her surprise, the fourth day was easier and on the fifth she actually found herself taking pleasure from their swift passage along the eastern bank of the Great River. Nebhotep rode the donkey sometimes, and in the cooler parts of the day hitched up his robes and ran, showing a well-turned thigh.
The physician sold the donkey at a small village on the third day, knowing that it slowed them. He spent a full hour haggling with a fisherman before trading it for a brace of gods carved from the tusks of a bull pehe-mau.
"What did you do that for?" Scarab demanded. "We don't need carvings. They're hideous, anyway."
Nebhotep turned them over, stroking the polished ivory. "Oh, I don't know. I think the craftsman shows great skill. Besides, what else was I going to trade them for? They don't have metal to spare and we don't want to be burdened down with a sack of cucumbers or cabbages, do we?"
"They don't grow cabbages here. It's too hot."
"And that's beside the point. We had to drive a reasonable bargain so as not to look suspicious and there was little else to trade." Nebhotep smiled. "What are you worried about, Scarab? I won't make you carry t
hem."
They ran faster without the donkey and in the early afternoon of the fifth day, arrived at the temple at Hoda, just across and downriver from Sehotep-Neteru. Avoiding the villagers milling around the marketplace and the temple precincts, they found a quiet grove of palms near the water's edge.
"What now?" Khu asked. "We're on the wrong side of the river."
From where they sat, the afternoon sun lit the sandstone and whitewashed walls and roofs of the city, the colours, sounds and smells carrying across to them. The dark water of Iteru ran quietly in the foreground, cutting them off from their goal.
"Well, obviously we have to get across," Huni said, wiping the sweat from his dark face. "And for that we'll need a boat."
"What are you going to do?" Khu asked. "Steal one?"
"That would most likely get us caught. We would be taking it over there." Huni pointed at the sprawling habitations. "Do you want the local Medjay to know there are thieves running loose in their city? Strangers like us would be their first target. No, we will hire one."
"What with? Oh, the carvings..."
Huni and Nebhotep left the others in the comparative security of the palm grove and went along the water's edge toward the small village that had grown up in the shadow of the temple. They returned a little before sunset, grinning.
"You were successful, then?" Khu asked. "You persuaded someone to take one of the carvings?"
"Yes, and no," Huni replied. "We have passage but we didn't have to part with our ivory. We forgot we have something else to sell."
Sepi guffawed. "You mean Kahi's bottom? I thought that was only valuable on campaign. There are too many..."
"Silence!" Huni roared. He strode over to Sepi, marking the sudden fear that blossomed in the wrestler's eyes. "Have you forgotten you are in the presence of a lady? Sentry duty for you tonight, Sepi."
Scarab wrinkled her forehead and tapped Khu's arm. "What did Sepi mean about Kahi's bottom?"
Khu hid a grin and leaning close, whispered in her ear. Scarab gaped and suddenly blushed, turning away in embarrassment.
"Now see what you've done," Huni hissed.
"So what did you sell then?" Pamont asked.
"My services as a physician," Nebhotep replied. "There are so few people out here I'd forgotten how much I'm needed. I was able to treat a boatman's family and as payment he has agreed to carry us all over the river tomorrow morning."
"He wasn't suspicious about seven men and a woman traveling without any goods and on foot?"
"Well, he was at first," Nebhotep said. "And then Huni got to work. I had no idea he was such an accomplished liar."
"A soldier must be prepared at all times," Huni said modestly. "I mean, I had to tell a reasonable tale, so I made out that Scarab was the daughter of a noble in Abu and she was traveling to Sehotep-Neteru to marry the son of a local noble. On the way we were waylaid by bandits who robbed us of almost everything. We soldiers are what's left of her guards and Nebhotep is her escort."
"What about me?" Khu asked. "What part did you give me?"
Huni looked away with a grin. "I couldn't think of a good reason for a young lad to be accompanying a beautiful girl, so I told him you were a simple farm lad who had joined us on the way. At least, I think I said simple."
Nebhotep cut across Khu's protests and Scarab's laughter. "Come now; think back a year or two. It's not so far from the truth."
They rose at dawn and after a hurried meal and a wash in the river, made their way to the boatman's hut. His wife, hardly older than Scarab but worn down and exhausted by her work and the production of a multitude of children, appeared at the doorway of the hut with an infant suckling at one shriveled breast and a naked child balanced on the opposing hip. Another child gripped the material of her mother's filthy kilt and stared out wide-eyed at the strangers. The woman half-dipped in a bow and grinned, showing a mouth filled with broken and rotting teeth.
"Welcome, missus. I's grateful for the 'elp your man gives us last night. We ain't got much but you wants some bread? We gots bread at least."
"N...no...thank you," Scarab stuttered. She stared in horror at the grey-haired and wrinkled woman and she crossed her arms over her young firm breasts self-consciously.
"This is how the poor people live," Nebhotep murmured. "She has another three inside, two boys and a girl--all sick. It's lack of good food and the filth they live in."
Scarab scarcely heard him. She stared at what she took for the household pet, a rather mangy cat sitting on a pile of fly-swarmed refuse. Then it moved and she saw it was a huge rat.
Shuddering, she turned to Huni. "Can we leave? Please." She fanned at the air with one hand, dispersing flies but not touching the all-pervading stink that surrounded her.
Huni nodded and went over to the boatman who stood at the water's edge, holding onto a rope. The man called them over and helped them into a small battered boat. Dirty water sloshed in the bottom and the boards creaked under the additional weight of another eight people. The water rose to within a palm width of spilling in and everyone sat very still, staring mesmerised at the surrounding water.
"Don't worry none, missus," the boatman said. "Me boat's a sturdy one. She won't be sinking today." He spat over the side before hauling on an old rope that hoisted a tattered triangular sail to the crooked mast.
The boat swung round and heeled over slightly, moving slowly away from the shore and into the rippling current. The right side of the boat dipped lower and water slopped over the edge. The owner pointed at a few half coconut shells floating in the dirty water at their feet.
"Yer might wanta bail out a bit a water. We'll be taking a bit in today, I be thinking."
"We'd be better off swimming," Kahi muttered. "We'll be doing so anyway before long."
The boatman grinned toothlessly. "I wouldna advise it. Yer may not see 'em but they're there alla same. See," he pointed toward the far bank where palm trunks lay half in the water on a muddy slope. "Yer wouldna stand a chance."
Scarab looked where the man was pointing but could not see anything alarming. Then one of the 'palm logs' slipped off the bank and submerged with no more than a few ripples on the surface. Another followed with a bit more of a splash. "Crocodiles!" She edged inboard a little and took her hand off the edge of the boat where her fingertips had been trailing in the water.
"I've heard they sometimes tip boats over," Hapu said, nudging Kahi with an elbow. "Then when everyone's flapping around in the water, they..."
"Let's leave tales like that for later," Huni cut in. He looked round at the boatman. "Where are you taking us? We've passed the main docks."
"Yer think the likes of us can tie up there? We 'as to use the uvver 'uns."
He steered the craft in toward the bank where a dilapidated wharf extended out a few paces into the shallow water. Untying the rope, the boatman let the sail fall, allowing the forward motion of the boat carry them close. He poled them in the last few lengths, and Kahi leaped out onto the rickety wooden structure and secured the boat. When everyone was on dry land, the boatman pointed to a path.
"Follow that 'un. It'll take yer to the markets. Yer can ask anyone 'baht Lord Meru. 'E be well known." The boatman winked at Scarab. "Good luck, missus." He turned back to his boat and cast off. They watched him ease his craft back into the current, the boat riding higher and lighter on its return journey.
"What did he mean wishing me luck?" Scarab asked suspiciously. "And who is Lord Meru?"
"Why, he's your future husband," Huni said with a smile. "We had to name someone and...er, he was the first name I thought of."
"And just why is the idea of Lord Meru so amusing?"
Huni coughed and looked away. "Er, shall we just say he might be more attracted to Khu here...or Kahi."
Scarab blushed again but asked with some temerity, "Just why is everybody in Nubia attracted to...to men?"
"By no means everyone," Nebhotep said. "But it is well known that soldiers on campaign develop somewh
at different tastes when away from their women for a long time. Near cities there are always camp followers and prostitutes but other times...well, where's the harm?"
"And Lord Meru? I can't imagine he's away from the company of women for very long."
Huni grinned. "No, I think he just prefers young lads."
"Hmmph. Men! Why can't they just control their urges?" Scarab lifted her nose in the air and set off up the path that led away from the river. The soldiers followed, but Khu just stood there looking unhappy.
"We're not all like that," he muttered.
Nebhotep clapped him on the shoulder and pushed him forward. "She knows that, lad."
They found themselves surrounded by men and women as they drew near to the markets. The city itself might consist mainly of the viceroy's palace and administration centre, a fort with barracks, and temples dedicated to Amun and Nebmaetre Amenhotep, but much more had gathered over the years. The presence of the king's officials drew craftsmen of every sort--builders, carpenters, potters, glass makers, carvers and jewelers. In their wake came the trades' people supplying every bodily need and many pleasures. The city grew and attracted people from the countryside. Farmers sold their produce, fishermen their catch, hunters traded meat and skins and the market was a place where everything changed hands. The viceroy's tax collectors were there too, hovering around every transaction, taking the king's tithe by promissory note from the major traders, extracting what they could by way of bribes. As the bulk of trade was carried out by barter, there was considerable argument as to the true worth of items and the general babble of conversation was punctuated by rowdy fights and screams. At these times, the local Medjay stepped in, huge Nubians armed with staves who thought nothing of clubbing a man senseless and dragging him off to a hot stone-walled room to recover.
Huni drew the band together on the outskirts of the market. "We stand out too much as strangers. We need some local clothing."
"We could use some decent food too," Sepi grumbled. "Fish, melons and a bit of bread is all we've had for weeks."
Nebhotep and Huni took the two carved pehe-mau tusks and wandered off looking for a buyer. Meanwhile, the others sat in the paltry shade of one of the vegetable stalls and tried to look inconspicuous. The owner of the stall cast worried looks in their direction for a time but as he saw they meant no harm, presently employed Hapu and Kahi as guards so he did not have to watch out for the thieving hands of numerous small children. Hapu and Kahi repaid his trust by sneaking some slightly bruised and mottled radishes and onions to their friends while his back was turned.