by Sam Barone
Eskkar grunted. Of course his luck had failed him again. First, Zuma had recognized him in the village, and now Iltani’s farm lay along the path Eskkar and Bracca needed to travel.
He turned to Bracca, still sitting on the rock, his face devoid of expression. Nevertheless, Eskkar knew his companion would be savoring this turn of events.
“Bracca, it’s on the way.” Eskkar hated the pleading tone that slipped into his voice. “We can spend the night at the farm, get something to eat, and be on our way before dawn. If Iltani and her kin want to join us, we can journey with them until they reach some safe place.”
“Then we might as well get moving.” Bracca rose and stretched his arms. “We haven’t had a good meal in days. If they’re going to lose their farm, I’m sure they’ll be able to spare a chicken or two for us. And I can’t wait to meet Iltani.”
Eskkar swore again, and started north, this time stretching his legs. Without looking at Bracca, Eskkar could almost feel the wide grin on his companion’s face. No matter how this turned out, Eskkar knew Bracca’s sarcastic remarks would last for days.
The sun still hung well above the horizon when the three men circled the base of a rocky outcrop. Half a mile ahead, Eskkar saw the farm. As they drew closer, he counted two holding pens for the animals, three low structures that must be living quarters, and a high walled enclosure where the farmers would store their grain, seeds, and anything else they harvested. A narrow stream only a few paces wide separated the pens from the huts.
Irrigation ditches branched off from the flowing water, then divided into an ever increasing number of mud-banked channels that carried the precious liquid to the crops. Even Eskkar knew that a farm this size, and with a fresh water stream running through it, would be a valuable one.
Zuma ran past Eskkar, splashing across the waterway and shouting Iltani’s name. Eskkar and Bracca followed more slowly, as they stepped down into the water. By then the huts had emptied, and Eskkar counted seven children, three women, and two men. One man and his wife were old, easily in their late forties or early fifties, and they appeared even older than that. The other woman, probably the wife of the younger brother Takcanar had recently killed, appeared about the same age as Iltani.
Farm labor aged a man faster than any other work, and proved even harder on women. They lived little better than slaves, forced to work all day and pleasure their husbands at night. Even if a woman didn’t die in childbirth, they aged rapidly and died well before their men folk. Many young girls could not stand the thought of the never-ending drudgery, and deserted both farm and family.
Glancing around, Eskkar wondered how anyone could contemplate living the life of a dirt eater. The Alur Meriki, the most powerful and dangerous of all the steppes clans, held dirt eaters in the lowest contempt, scarcely better than animals, and killed them without compunction whenever the warriors raided these lands.
Iltani, wiping her hands on her ragged dress, kept her eyes fixed on Eskkar as he approached. Zuma, meanwhile, tried to explain how he had come across the two fighters, but Iltani ignored his excited utterances as she moved past him.
“Eskkar. It is you.” Her voice was soft, almost melodious, but her words carried authority. “I have often wondered what became of you, if you survived.”
Eskkar recognized her face, though the skinny girl he carried on his horse had changed greatly. Her body had thickened from the burden of child bearing. Likely her husband had not even waited until she passed through the rites and joined the women before taking her. Uncombed long hair already streaked with gray, hung around her face, as if to conceal the scars from the pox on her cheeks. But her eyes remained as he remembered them, dark, intelligent, and fearless.
“Iltani. It is good to see you again.” Eskkar gestured toward Bracca. “This is my friend, Bracca. We were in Norvel when Zuma found us.”
Bracca stepped forward, moving to Eskkar’s side. “Actually, we’d just been chased out of the village by Takcanar and his men. By chance we happened to be going this way, and Zuma brought us here. Eskkar was very excited at the chance to see you again. He never stopped talking about you.”
A faint smile crossed Iltani’s face. “Your friend has smooth words, Eskkar. But you both must be hungry and thirsty.” She turned to the other women, still standing there, mouths open. “Water for our guests, and bread and dates. They’ll be hungry walking all the way from Norvel.”
Eskkar glanced at Zuma and the other two men. The old man, permanently stooped from working in the fields, appeared as confused as the old woman. The young man probably had less than fourteen seasons, but already his face looked slack and his eyes dull. Zuma was the only one whose wits might be quick enough to help.
Iltani invited the two visitors inside the largest hut, but both Eskkar and Bracca shook their heads. Eskkar had already seen a chicken amble out of the hut, and a room full of children and farm animals would stink almost as much as a pig pen, and probably be just as infested with bugs, mice, and spiders. Eskkar preferred to sleep outdoors, away from the cramped and crowded conditions. Not that he and Bracca intended to sleep here.
Eskkar had already made up his mind, and it took only a quick glance at Bracca’s face to see he had arrived at the same conclusion. Iltani and her family should abandon the farm and move north. Nothing here was worth dying for.
“Iltani, we’ll take whatever food you can spare. But we can’t stay here. If we all start moving now, before it’s dark, we should be able to get far enough away so that by morning, this Katha won’t bother chasing after you.”
“We’ll share our food with you, Eskkar, but I’m not leaving my home. I’ve buried a husband and two of my children here, and raised three others. I won’t be driven from my own land.”
Zuma shook his head. “We must go, Iltani. Think of the children. Katha will kill us, but he’ll make slaves of them, if he lets them live.”
“Go if you want, Zuma. Take the others. But my children and I will stay.”
The determined line of her jaw told Eskkar that she meant her words. “Iltani, you can’t stay. Your children will need you . . .”
“You once fought against many men when you were little more than a boy, Eskkar. Now you’re a man. Can’t you and your friend stand up to these murderers?”
Bracca moved beside Eskkar. “Zuma told us that ten, perhaps more, will be here by midmorning, Iltani. In a fight, anything can happen. He said that some of those coming will carry bows. We can’t risk our lives against those odds, not when you can simply leave. Eskkar and I will protect you until we reach the next village.”
“No! I will not leave my farm. Better to die here. When Katha rides up to my house, I will kill him myself.”
Even before she finished, Eskkar glanced at Bracca. He, too, had caught the words. “What do you mean, when he rides up? Does he have a horse?” As far as he and Bracca knew, there wasn’t a horse within fifty miles.
“Of course! Do you think the owner of the biggest farms in the land would ride a cow?”
“How many horses will they have?” Bracca’s gentle tone did nothing to calm down Iltani.
“What does it matter? You won’t be here.”
“How many, Zuma?” Eskkar, too, wanted to know.
“Katha rides a fine stallion,” Zuma said. “And each of his three sons also has a good horse.”
Bracca touched Eskkar’s arm. “We need to talk. Alone.”
Eskkar followed Bracca away from the house, walking until they were a good fifty paces from Iltani and her family.
“What do you think?” Eskkar wasted no time. “Four horses? Is it worth the risk?”
“I don’t want to spend six months working like some farm animal,” Bracca said, “trying to save enough coins to buy some miserable excuse for a horse. If we can’t steal horses from some clumsy farmer, we deserve to walk another hundred miles.”
“We could raid his farm tomorrow night,” Eskkar mused. “We get the family away, and let him take Ilt
ani’s farm. By nightfall, he’ll be so happy we could slip in and steal the horses.”
“Maybe. But the horses will be guarded, and Katha will have farm dogs as well. And we’ll have to hide in the fields during the day. If we’re spotted, Takcanar will use his bowmen and run us down. Here, the horses will come to us, with halters, and ready to ride. All we need to do is kill this Katha and his sons. And from what Zuma says, no one will be eager to avenge their deaths. This is better than anything we’ll find up north.”
“It might work,” Eskkar said. “They won’t be expecting trouble.” He took a deep breath. “We’ll have to kill Takcanar, and probably the bowmen. The rest will run.”
“We’ll need to get them off the horses somehow,” Bracca said. “If they see us waiting for them . . . can’t let them just ride away at the first sign of trouble.”
“How are we going to do that? They won’t dismount if there’s a hint of danger. They’ll just gallop away.”
Bracca rubbed his jaw, as he thought the problem over. “What’s the one thing that will get every man off his horse?”
Eskkar glanced back toward the main house, where the little group waited in silence, all eyes on the two strangers. “Mmm, that might work. We’d need some luck. But we’ve got time to prepare, and I’m sure Iltani will do whatever we ask.” He turned his gaze back to Bracca. “Are you willing to risk it? Ten against two?”
“A quick fight or a long walk? If we can’t capture at least two horses, we deserve to be killed on some miserable farm. Besides, you’ll be helping your woman, who will no doubt be appreciative afterwards.”
“Iltani will help,” Eskkar said. “And perhaps Zuma, too. It might be their best chance to keep their farm, and for us to get some horses.”
“Then it’s settled.” Bracca took a deep breath. “Friend Eskkar, if you’re willing to fight for your woman, then I’m ready to stand at your side. Or behind you, since that’s usually safer.” He clapped Eskkar on the shoulder. “Let’s give Iltani the good news.”
“And we better start thinking how to do this, friend Bracca,” Eskkar said. “It’s not going to be easy.”
“When a man loves a woman, nothing is ever easy.”
Eskkar jabbed his fist at Bracca’s arm, but the laughing Sumerian had already stepped out of reach.
Eskkar, Bracca, Iltani, and Zuma worked until it grew too dark to see anything outside. By then, Eskkar and Bracca had sketched out a plan, and made their preparation. Zuma and Iltani would play a role, as would the other woman, whose name was Tiba. She didn’t have Iltani’s quick wits, but she seemed determined enough, though she refused to take orders from anyone but Iltani.
Bracca and Zuma had fashioned two spears from some straight branches. Zuma produced two dull copper knives, and Bracca sharpened their tips, then removed the blades from their handles. Zuma carved a deep groove on the end of each shaft, then wedged in the blade. Strips of tightly wound linen then fastened the blades securely.
As weapons, they wouldn’t last long, but a thrust or two might be all that was needed. At least the spears would give Zuma and Iltani a chance to hold off anyone armed with a sword for a few moments.
Iltani and Eskkar pulled some of the wooden staves from the ceiling of one of the huts. Then they created two crude shields by binding the narrow wooden staves against two crosspieces, tying everything together with the small length of rope that Iltani supplied. More linen strips, cut from her dead husband’s tunic, helped hold each shield together.
Again, the flimsy shields didn’t need to last, as long as they could stop an arrow or two. If they had to withstand more, like a stroke from a sword, Eskkar and Bracca would be in trouble. Even so, they had formed simple thrusting weapons and shields before, so both men moved with efficiency.
Devising weapons and preparing themselves for battle were tasks that didn’t take either man long. They had readied themselves for a fight so often that they instinctively knew how to seek out the best locations and come up with the best tactics. As for being outnumbered, only Takcanar looked like a serious fighter. Katha and his sons might have some fighting skills, but likely had little or no experience using them.
Bracca and Eskkar went over the plan with Iltani. They showed her where to stand, told her what to say, and when to run. She and Zuma would have to do their share. To Eskkar’s surprise, Iltani seemed almost eager to confront Katha and his men. Zuma, too, now preferred to fight rather than run. Aside from being their home, a rich farmstead like this was worth defending.
Eskkar and Zuma circled the farm, studying the approaches. Katha’s men would come from the east, not from Norvel and the south. Eskkar wanted to see what they would see, and how they would guide their horses to the farm. Finally he grunted in satisfaction. He and Bracca would be outnumbered, but that disadvantage could be reduced by the element of surprise, and the speed and savagery of their attack. Yes, he decided, the plan might work, though they were still going to need some luck.
At last they completed their preparations. The cooking fires had burned for some time, and the old woman had butchered four chickens, cut them up, and made a hearty stew for everyone. A real feast, considering that they all might be dead soon. Afterward, Eskkar took his ease, his belly comfortably full for the first time in many days. The night remained warm, a perfect night to sleep underneath the stars.
He and Bracca relaxed against the outside wall of Iltani’s hut, while she finished her chores and prepared her children for sleep. Her calmness kept the others under control, and even the wide-eyed children seemed to understand that tonight was not the evening to annoy their elders. When she finished, she joined the two companions.
“Well, we’re ready enough,” Eskkar said to her. “A few more things to go over in the morning, but we should have time.”
Takcanar and his men wouldn’t be arriving at first light. For all any of them knew, he might not show up until noon.
“Then Tiba and I will make our preparations,” Iltani said.
She called Tiba away from her children, and the two women went off into the darkness. They were gone for some time. By the time they returned, night had settled over the farm and the children and the old woman had taken to their beds.
Iltani, her hair wet from her bath in the stream, wore only a blanket wrapped around her body. She hung her dress, still damp from being washed, on a peg outside the hut. She went into the hut for a few moments, and when Iltani reappeared, she held a second blanket in her arm.
“Come with me, Eskkar.”
He lifted his gaze, unsure for a moment what she intended. But she held out her hand, the unmistakable gesture of every woman asking a man to her bed. For a moment, he stared at her, but she met his eyes, and the hand remained outstretched.
Rising to his feet, he followed her into the darkness, away from huts, the people, and the animals. Holding her hand, they moved past the fields and climbed a grassy hillock. She spread the blanket she carried on the ground, then knelt down. Iltani lifted her gaze, and loosened the damp blanket from her body.
“Join with me, Eskkar. I’ve always wished that you could have taken me. I had to cry in secret when you rode away, otherwise they would have beaten me. Three days later, I was given to my Ulman, to be his second wife. He was a good enough man, but I always wished I could have gone with you.”
He knelt facing her, and put his hands on her bare shoulders. Her warm flesh sent a sensation of pleasure through him, and he felt himself growing hard. “You don’t have to do this, Iltani.”
“Tonight may be the last night of my life, of your life. If I let this chance slip away, when will I ever get another?”
“Bracca and I are doing this for the horses, Iltani. As soon as we get them, we’ll be on our way.”
“I know. No farm will ever hold you. You’ve grown tall and strong, and you must find your own path. It is too late for me, Eskkar. I need to stay here, to raise my children. But I will pray to the gods that someday you find happiness.�
�� She sighed. “Now there should be no more talk. Take me, Eskkar. Let me close my eyes, and be the girl you saved from the bandits many years ago.”
Still holding her shoulders, he leaned closer and kissed her lips, her hair, her cheeks. “I have always regretted not sharing the pleasures of the gods with you, Iltani. Many nights, I've seen your face in my dreams.”
She put her arms around his neck, but he brushed them away, and pulled his tunic up over his head. Her hands reached out to grasp his manhood, already erect, and he pushed her down on the blanket.
Iltani buried her face in his shoulder. “I told Tiba to go to your friend, and pleasure him.”
Eskkar pushed her legs apart and moved over her. What might happen to Bracca meant nothing. The only thing that mattered was that Iltani wanted him, and he wanted her. Then he slid inside her. She moaned in pleasure and pulled him tight against her body.
Their bodies hungered for each other, and the first time was hurried, almost desperate. But the second time lasted far longer, with deeper and more intense pleasure. Satisfied, Eskkar lay back on the blanket. But Iltani had had other ideas. The love making went on, until both were exhausted.
They slept in the field, holding each other close and covered by the thin blanket. Well before dawn, Iltani woke him with a kiss, then disappeared, running back to her family. By the time he dressed and returned to the huts, the first light of morning sent a pink haze into the eastern sky, promising another warm day.
Bracca, wearing his sword, waited for him. A cooking fire already burned, warming a dented copper pot that held fresh water from the stream. Iltani had started ministering to her children, at least the older ones who had awakened.
“Sleep well, friend Eskkar?”
“Well enough.” In truth, Eskkar hadn’t gotten as much sleep as he wanted.
“Tiba came to me,” Bracca said, “but farm girls know little about pleasing a man. Still, she did her best.”
Eskkar ignored the comments. “Are we ready?”