by Sam Barone
Nevertheless the soldiers moved cautiously, every man alert, and it took another hour to reach their destination. Eskkar gave the order to halt fifty paces out of a long bowshot from the village’s palisade.
Eskkar nodded at Sisuthros. His subcommander turned and began shouting orders to the men. First they straddled the road that led to the village and dropped their packs and supplies. Unencumbered, they got right to work, though every man kept his weapons close by. While twenty men stood guard with strung bows, the rest began to dig a ditch across the road. They had plenty of shovels and digging tools, most of them acquired during the last four days as the horsemen checked every farm they passed for digging implements, paying copper coins to the farmers only too eager to sell them. The rest of the men used their hands, sticks, or whatever else they could obtain. Fortunately, the sandy soil made the work proceed quickly.
Eskkar rode off a little ways, Grond at his side, and studied the village before them. The Alur Meriki in their passing must have burned a good portion of the palisade, and Eskkar could see where it had been rebuilt.
No doubt the barbarians had knocked down plenty of houses during their looting, but mud bricks were easily replaced, and a peasant’s hut could be rebuilt with a few days’ labor. Bisitun probably hadn’t changed much in the last few years. Back then more than five hundred people lived here; now that number might even be higher, with all the nearby farmers driven from their land, crops and homes destroyed. Some might have left since the coming of Ninazu, but others would still come, looking for any communal place of safety, even a village ruled by bandits.
Fresh repairs to the main gate showed plainly; no doubt the Alur Meriki had broken up the previous one and used it for firewood. All the mud houses within bowshot of the palisade had been knocked down, and the rubble broken up and strewn about, to impede the progress of any attacker. The palisade stood higher than Eskkar remembered, and appeared to have been reinforced with extra logs or planks. The new gate looked sturdy as well, though nowhere near as massive as Akkad’s main entrance.
Eskkar could see the defenders standing behind the stockade, some still scurrying about, searching for their assigned positions. Most of them carried bows, with axes and swords no doubt close at hand. From the highest point of the palisade, just to the side of the gate, a small group of men stood apart and watched the soldiers from Akkad as they began to dig in.
“I’ll wager that one’s Ninazu,” Grond commented. “Looks a little like his brother, at any rate. The tall one with the silver armbands.”
Eskkar picked out the man, but his eye couldn’t see any resemblance at that distance, only the polished silver glinting in the sun. For a moment that irritated him. Ten seasons ago, it would have been his eyes that spotted such details. Not that he could complain; his luck had kept him alive.
Few fighting men made it to their thirtieth season, and Eskkar had survived more battles than he could remember. Still, he knew the trades of fighting and soldiering were best left to men just reaching their twentieth season.
“We’ll know soon enough if that’s him,” Eskkar grunted. “But keep an eye on that one. We’ll need to identify the leaders for later on.”
“Do you think they’ll come out to fight? They look ready enough.”
“No, not if their leader’s got any wits. Not yet, at any rate. This Ninazu probably expects an immediate attack on the village, if not today, then tomorrow. Let him watch our men dig in . . . give him plenty of time to wonder what we’re planning.”
“Should we ride around and take a look at the other sides?”
“When we’re dug in. There’ll be plenty of time tomorrow. Let’s try and get a count of how many fighters we’re facing.”
Eskkar stayed in the same position a long time, looking at the palisade, trying to put himself in the bandit leader’s place. The siege at Akkad had given him a wealth of experience in defending a village from attack.
Soldiers and villagers alike had spent almost five months preparing for the Akkad siege, learning and even inventing new defenses, then endured more than a month of hard fighting against the entire Alur Meriki clan.
In the end, Eskkar and his soldiers had forced the barbarians to move on, defeating them as much by denying them food as by resisting them on the battlements.
With that experience, Eskkar studied Bisitun and its wooden palisade.
This time he would be the attacker, the one outside the walls. Put yourself in your enemy’s mind, Trella would remind him. This Ninazu had the village and the stockade to protect him, and Ninazu had more men than his besiegers.
But just because a man carried a sword didn’t make him an experienced fighter. The men from Akkad had trained and practiced their skills for over five months. More important, many of them had faced battle-hardened, determined fighters and beat them. No scruffy band of brigands, held together only by their love of gold and fear of their leaders, would stand up to Eskkar’s men for more than a few moments in open combat. Ninazu must realize this. So there would be no sudden sortie from the village, to rush and overwhelm the attackers.
Ninazu would have other worries as well. Eskkar hadn’t really needed to talk to the local farmers to know how they had been treated. And while the reluctant inhabitants of Bisitun might stand on the wall and look determined, they weren’t going to fight to the death for Ninazu, a man who had taken freely their wives and daughters as well as their crops and valuables, and ruled only by force. No, Ninazu couldn’t trust his villagers for long.
And if the bandit ventured out and suffered a defeat, many of his men would start thinking about taking what they had gained and slipping across the river to safety. Ninazu needed a quick victory. If Eskkar attacked and was driven off, Ninazu’s position and strength would increase.
The longer the siege went on, the more confidence Ninazu’s men would have. But time, which seemed to be on Ninazu’s side, would soon be working in Eskkar’s favor.
“This Ninazu has plenty of men,” Eskkar said, “willing and unwilling. I count at least ninety or a hundred fighting men that I can see. No doubt there are more waiting behind the palisade. More than enough to attack us here. But he’ll wait a few days, to see what we’re up to.”
“Then we’ll have to show him what we can do, Captain,” Grond answered. “He’s in for a surprise.”
“Just make sure we’re not the ones who are surprised.”
The rough ideas that Eskkar had first considered back in Dilgarth and reworked on the march north still had merit, and the terrain around the village seemed favorable. Now that he could study the village’s defenses, he needed to give more thought to some details, but he had his plan. Tonight and tomorrow would give him more information even as he set in motion the first part of his plan.
Though not by nature a patient man, Eskkar could afford to take his time. He wanted to capture the village without losing too many men. The soldiers he and Gatus had trained were far too valuable to throw away in a frontal assault, though he already felt sure he could force the palisade, using his archers to drive Ninazu’s men from the walls. But many would die, and Eskkar needed all the trained fighting men he had, not only here, but back in Akkad as well. No, he would stay with his original plan. His mind made up, Eskkar and Grond turned their horses around and headed back toward their new encampment.
By the time darkness fell, the camp’s basic defense was nearly completed. A shallow ditch surrounded the men on three sides, with only their rear exposed. By early tomorrow, that opening would be closed as well.
The earth from the ditch had been piled up on the inside of the camp to form an embankment, and men worked at packing it down even now. This dirt wall would stop an arrow as well as any wooden fence, while the ditch in front would hinder either men or horses, should the men inside Bisitun attempt to overrun the Akkadians.
The idea for a fortified camp such as this had come from Gatus. He and Eskkar had argued over many nights and much ale about its worth.
Sisuthros posted the guards and made the rounds to make sure they stayed alert. But Eskkar would depend more on the three men who slipped out of the camp as soon as the last of the sun vanished from the sky. They would creep up as close to the palisade as possible to keep watch. If the defenders decided to sortie out, the three sentries would give warning.
Inside the camp Sisuthros kept all seventy Akkadians busy for another two hours, before they were allowed to turn in, though a third of the men would stay awake and alert throughout the night. The tired soldiers fell asleep in moments, snoring away in blissful repose, a sound loud enough to wake the demons or the dead. Only when everything seemed secure for the night did Grond, Hamati, and Sisuthros sit down with Eskkar around a small campfire to discuss their next steps.
“From what we could see on the palisade,” Eskkar began, “it looks as though Ninazu has at least a hundred fighting men, probably thirty or forty more that he’s kept hidden. The rest are villagers and the local farmers, no doubt with swords at their backs as well as in their hands.”
“What if they try an attack tonight?” Hamati asked. He had charge of the first group of twenty-five men who would be awake and ready throughout the night.
“I don’t think they will,” Eskkar answered. “He knows he outnumbers us. Why should they give up their strong position to attack us in ours? No, he’ll wait, thinking we may attack tomorrow.”
“We could still try something at night ourselves,” Sisuthros suggested.
“We don’t have the men to waste. We’ll stay with the plan, for the next few days at least.” Eskkar stood. “Wake me when you change the guards, Hamati. I’ll want to talk to the men. Now, let’s get some rest.”
Eskkar arose before dawn broke. He’d slept well during the night, despite waking twice as the twenty-five defenders were replaced. Each time, he made the rounds with the new men, inspecting them, talking with them, and reminding them to keep alert.
All around him men groaned and stretched, their muscles stiff from yesterday’s digging. He smiled at that. Those muscles would loosen up soon enough. There would be more digging today. A lot more. The men should be grateful. At least they wouldn’t be marching anywhere.
Before the sun cleared the horizon, Eskkar stood atop the dirt embankment and looked toward the village. The palisade stood fully manned, a sign of good discipline on his enemy’s part. No doubt Ninazu had expected an early morning attack, or even something during the night. With the sun behind him, Eskkar picked out the man with bright silver bracelets on both his arms. If that proved to be Ninazu, he would be an easy target, especially for Mitrac and his bow.
Eskkar studied the palisade only long enough to be sure the defenders had no plans for a morning attack of their own. When he turned away, half a dozen arrows flew into the sky, trying to reach him. All scattered themselves in the earth, the nearest of them at least sixty paces short of their target. Smiling, Eskkar waved at the bandit leader, then stepped back down inside the embankment.
After a quick meal of stale bread and hard cheese, Eskkar watched as Sisuthros gave the morning orders. His subcommander sent out ten scouts on horseback, to make sure no one surprised the Akkadians from their rear or flanks. The scouts dispatched, Sisuthros directed the liverymen and scribes to fetch fresh water from the river, and put the rest of the men to work. First they would finish the ditch around the entire camp. Then the ditch would be made deeper and the rampart higher, higher than really needed. Eskkar wanted the camp secure by day’s end, and his men concealed from the defenders, so they could prepare their surprises.
The men worked steadily, only half of them laboring at any time, as the others stood guard or rested. By noon, a steep wall of packed-down dirt surrounded the camp. Only an opening six paces wide at the rear remained. Sisuthros’s scouts returned, leading two wagons that could be used to block that opening if necessary. With the basic fortification constructed the men labored, on making the ditch deeper and the rampart higher. Eskkar walked around the camp once again, as he had already done a dozen times, talking to the men, encouraging them, telling them they could rest when the ditch was completed.
A shout made him look up. One of Sisuthros’s scouts had appeared, riding toward the camp from the south. His slow canter told Eskkar that he bore no urgent news, so Eskkar walked leisurely to the rear of the camp.
Grond, Hamati, and Sisuthros joined him, just as the rider dismounted.
“What is it, Tuvar?” Sisuthros clasped the man on the shoulder. “What did you see?”
“Just what you expected, Commander.” Tuvar handed the horse over to one of the other men. Then he turned to face Eskkar. “Captain, we met five farmers from the nearby countryside. They were frightened, but they still approached us.”
“Good. Where did you meet them?” Eskkar needed the local farmers.
They would be an important part of his plan.
“A few miles to our rear, Captain. We were well out of sight of the village. I told them we were here to free the village from Ninazu and his thieves, and that we’d purchase as much firewood, food, and wine as they could sell us.”
“And you told them . . .” Eskkar couldn’t stop the smile that appeared on his face.
“I told them to bring it here. They didn’t like that. They’re afraid we’ll just take their food and keep our silver.” Tuvar smiled at the memory. “I told them that if they were afraid, to bring it a little at a time, and that we would pay for each delivery. It happened just as you said it would, Captain. They’ll come, I’m sure of it.”
“Since they know you, ride back to where you found them, and wait there for them. You can escort them here. Remember, we’re their friends, eager to help them get rid of Ninazu. This is important, Tuvar. Take care with them, and treat them politely.”
“I understand, Captain. Don’t worry. I’ll bring them in.” He nodded to Sisuthros before remounting the horse and cantering away.
Eskkar turned to Sisuthros. “Have men ready to greet them. You, too, Grond. Make sure you stop by and speak with them. Tell them you’re looking to purchase the finest foods and wine for me.”
“Yes, Captain.” The two men spoke the words together. They discussed this last night and again early this morning. But Sisuthros knew his captain well. Eskkar would go over orders again and again, as much to make sure he hadn’t forgotten something than to see if Sisuthros or the other subcommanders remembered them.
Another shout made them all look up again. A pair of riders had crested one of the low hills to the south, each of them leading a pack animal. Both the men and beasts looked as though they had traveled hard.
Eskkar stared at the two riders, one of whom looked familiar.
“It’s Drakis,” Grond said, identifying the man first. “He should have been here last night.”
“Who’s that with him?” Sisuthros asked.
That question was answered quickly enough, and by Drakis himself, as soon as he dismounted and drank half a skin of water. The four leaders took him aside, all of them eager to hear what tidings he brought.
“Captain Eskkar,” Drakis began, wiping the water from his chin with the back of his hand, “Lady Trella sends her greetings and wishes you success at Bisitun.”
“Trella is well?” Almost ten days had passed since Eskkar had last seen her.
“Very well, Captain. She asked me to remind Grond to keep you safe and out of trouble.”
“I will try and take care of myself, Drakis,” Eskkar answered dryly.
Somehow her concern made him feel proud, not embarrassed. “What else did she say?”
“Only that she wished you a speedy return. And she suggested Gatus send another man with me, with a second pack horse. So we’ve brought you twelve skins of oil
, three bags of cotton, and all the ropes we could carry. The extra supplies slowed us down, or we’d have arrived yesterday.”
Eskkar hadn’t expected so much. Leave it to Trella to make sure he got double what he asked for. And he should have thought of sending two men. If one of the horses got injured, there would have been a delay in getting him what he needed. “And everything is well in Akkad?”
“Yes, and Dilgarth, too,” Drakis said, anticipating Eskkar’s next question. “There’s no sign of any bandits remaining in the area, and the village seems to be recovering. Corio and Nicar are sending more men there, and Gatus sent a few more soldiers for protection. No doubt they’ve already arrived. With the extra men, Dilgarth will begin rebuilding the palisade and irrigation ditches, and helping the flax weavers get started again. Nicar says there is a great shortage of linen in Akkad.”
“Good. Very good,” Eskkar said, pleased to hear that Dilgarth remained safe and secure. He turned to Sisuthros. “We can begin the next part of the plan.”
Grond turned to Drakis. “What about this other man? Who is he?”
“Rukor? He’s one of the new men Gatus is training.” Drakis seemed surprised at the sudden interest. “He’s good with horses. We would’ve been even later without him.”
Eskkar looked over toward the pack animals, where Rukor and some of the liverymen from the camp had already stripped the tired animals of their burdens and started rubbing them down. Eskkar didn’t know this man and didn’t want to take any chances. “We’ll have to get rid of him. Rukor! Come here!”
The shout made Rukor turn, and he jogged over to where his leaders stood. “Yes, Lord Eskkar,” he said, as he bowed. An older man, Rukor looked to have more than thirty seasons. He had never spoken with Eskkar before and knew little about Akkad’s leader.
“Rukor, Drakis says you’ve done well,” Eskkar said, “but I want you back on a horse and on your way back to Akkad. I have an urgent message for my wife. You will tell her . . . tell her that we are encamped outside of Bisitun and waiting.”