Chapter 15
King's Lake in Fernland
The day of the buzkashi exhibition match at King's Lake dawned clear and chilly—perfect weather for the demanding game. The goat carcass that every player would vie for, was ready on the sidelines. Avor's team had been practicing for months. Although the Taz men were sailors and ship builders, they were familiar with the game and they expected to hold their own against the Barburee nomads. A few hoped to do more than hold their own. The Great Khan of Barburee had stolen their city and scattered their families. The Barburee team had no idea they would be playing against the men who had built Taz from the ground up.
Three Taz leaders huddled together on the sidelines, speaking rapidly as they glanced around nervously, making sure they were not overheard.
Haddad glared at his brother, Physician Rabar, and his father, the Caliph.
"But this is preposterous. We cannot return to Taz to build ships for the Great Khan. We might as well have taken the offer brought by his generals years ago, and surrendered. It would have been the same. We would be his slaves and he could demand we leave whenever he felt like it."
The Caliph put up his hand to calm his angry son. "It would not be exactly the same. The Great Khan has no idea that we are the ones who fled in the night to escape being killed. We would negotiate a fair price for our labor, or we would not go at all. Bataar has already promised to outbid the tea traders in China and he does not even know what they will offer." The Caliph's face took on a philosophical expression. "The winds of war blow where they will. The Great Khan may suffer defeat at the hands of other enemies. Then we would be left to re-establish ourselves in Taz."
Physician Rabar listened to both men, nodding occasionally. He shrugged before speaking. "It is true. No one knows what the future holds. Fate could smile on us or frown. Perhaps it would be better if we divide ourselves between two or even three places. I myself would prefer to return to Taz where I could resume my work on tumor research with herbs familiar to me. If our plan for taking back Taz does not work out, we could rejoin Haddad here or move on to China." He looked at his father with questioning eyes.
The Caliph smiled at his son. "You have become very wise, I think. What say you Haddad?"
"It sounds good—how it will work out in practice? That is another story. I would worry for your safety in Taz." Haddad looked out at his ship builders from Taz, now warming up on the field. They rode up and down on the big Fernland horses that dwarfed the agile little horses brought by the Barburee team. "I am worried too, about some of our buzkashi players. There has been talk about unseating Bataar and laughter about unfortunate accidents that might take place in today's match."
The Caliph's face reflected his alarm. "That must not happen. I will speak to them before the game begins."
At that moment a trumpet fanfare sounded and the goat carcass was hauled onto the field in a cart. Two men pulled the cart to the far end of the field and dumped the carcass. Bataar's blue team members rode around the field once to applause from a huge crowd of Fernlanders and visitors who came out of curiosity to witness this new sport. Avor's red team followed the blue team around the field.
The twenty riders gathered in a large circle facing the goat carcass and jostled about on their horses to get into a good position to scoop up the goat and carry it down the field. As the trumpet fanfare ended a large collective gasp came from the onlookers. The players had all gone crazy. They began shoving, kicking, using their whips on other players, fighting their way into the circle to reach down and grab the carcass from the ground. The buzkashi match had begun.
From their place on the platform, King Geoffrey and Queen Delphinia stood up, shocked and appalled at the free-for-all taking place on the field.
Queen Delphinia stared at Electra, aghast. "Is this normal behavior?"
Electra nodded. "Yes, I'm afraid so. In fact, they are likely on their good behavior since this is only an exhibition game."
Dagon stood as well, looking on with renewed interest. "I had no idea," he murmured.
The Barburee players actually had an advantage with their shorter horses. They could more easily reach down to grab the stump of a goat leg and swing the heavy carcass up onto their saddles. When the dust cleared, it was a Barburee player who burst from the pack with the carcass and took off galloping down the field to round the posts at the other end.
The Fernland team, with their larger horses quickly outdistanced the Barburee team and turned them aside before they reached the posts. The player who had been pushed off course with the carcass quickly circled back around and handed the carcass off to a team member. The Barburee horses were showing themselves to be much more maneuverable and much more experienced at the game.
One of the Fernland players, whip in hand, was galloping down the field towards Bataar. Two other players joined him. Avor seemed to sense an ambush and he galloped in from the side to turn their horses away before they ran down an unsuspecting Bataar from behind.
"What's Avor doing?" Dagon asked Electra. "He's turning his own team aside." Dagon's voice held a slight irritation, and it was obvious he hoped Fernland would beat the visitors at their own game.
Electra frowned at Dagon. "He is likely saving his players' lives. Bataar would not stand for being trampled from behind when he is not in possession of the carcass. I believe there must be a few rules to this insane game."
Dagon made a sound like 'hummp' and stayed silent.
After Barburee scored the first point, a brief intermission was called while the old carcass, now hanging in tatters, was replaced with a new one
Haddad and the Caliph huddled with the Fernland team. Haddad shook Avor's hand. One of the players who had tried to run down Bataar was his own son, Javed. Haddad looked sternly at the three young men. "We may have an opportunity to retake Taz peacefully, posing as ship builders from another land. But not if you let Bataar see that we hate him."
Haddad spoke in the Taz language, but Avor was able to make out the gist of it. He was glad to hear that Haddad did not approve of the plot to injure Bataar. Still, they all knew buzkashi was a rough sport and injuries could not be completely prevented.
Haddad finished his speech with a cautious smile of encouragement and the Fernland players clung to their bravado.
"Let's show them we can grab the goat as well as they," Avor shouted to his team in the Taz language as they took the field again. The players hooted and cheered as they approached the goat carcass.
Queen Delphinia watched, pale and shaken, as Avor took his place around the circle. She turned to her husband almost tearfully.
"I am afraid someone will be badly injured. Do you think it might be wise to stop further play? We have all seen how the game is played now."
King Geoffrey looked as though he had been expecting this and had his answer ready. "You know we must not embarrass Avor in that way. He is almost a man now. He will be sixteen in a fortnight and he has been planning this exhibition for many months."
Delphinia closed her eyes. "I know. I know, but..." Her voice faded off as the trumpet fanfare ended and the game resumed.
The high point of the game for Fernland took place as Avor and Javed raced across the finish line, each holding on to one leg of the goat's carcass. Even Delphinia was cheering as her son raised his hand to acknowledge the crowd's approval. The final score was three to one in Barburee's favor, and much to Queen Delphinia's horror, all of Fernland now had a new favorite sport.
Princess Electra Book 4 School of Medicine Page 16