Next morning the crowds began to gather early at the dock on the West Bank to witness the spectacle and splendour of the arrival of the Divine One. A double rank of soldiers lined the Royal Quay at the huge artificial harbour near the Malkata palace, the per Hay ‘House of Rejoicing’; one rank of troops faced the gathering and restless crowd and the other faced the river. The bright sun beat down, glistening on the shiny bronze metal of armour and weapons.
Many small boats bobbed stationary on the river and several large barges owned by nobles moved ponderously upriver, dropping off their noble passengers to join the throng on the Royal Quay before the boats then anchored nearby.
The whole population of the city appeared to be lining both banks of the river; a dense crush of people was in the square between the harbour and the palace. The noise coming from the crowd filled the air as it chatted and sang happily in a holiday mood. More squadrons of chariots moved swiftly along each bank of the river. Around the bend in the river moved four sleek warships, the galleys moving slowly against the strong river flow and the adverse wind. The beat of the gong controlling the rowers came clearly across the water and the blades of the oars rose and fell with precision. Two larger ships followed, crammed with soldiers in full battledress. They tied up at a nearby quay, unloading the soldiers who formed up and moved in ranks towards the palace. A number of barges belonging to the nobles accompanying Ramesses south moved quickly to the Royal Quay and unloaded their passengers who joined the welcoming party, before the ships moved away.
Finally, around the bend and into view moved the royal barge, oars rising and falling as it slowly forced its way south against the flow of the river. It was huge and glistened splendidly in the sunlight, the brightly painted colours, gilded surfaces and dyed sail made an impressive sight. Pharaoh could be clearly seen sitting in isolated splendour in full regalia under an awning amidships in the boat. The crowd gave a spontaneous roar and began to chant their welcome, raising their arms and waving excitedly as their king, a human god, came amongst them.
More boats carrying the servants and officials that formed the bulk of the Court and others filled with more soldiers were followed the royal barge into view on the river. The royal barge then moved through the short canal cut to connect the harbour and palace with the river. It manoeuvred with difficulty to the Royal Quay, struggling to execute the move with such a large and ponderous boat against wind and water, particularly when the nearside oars had to be shipped close to the stone quay. Lines were thrown to be attached to the bollards, drawing the boat against the quay and a gangplank was quickly positioned.
Nikolas, Pamose and Lorentis had been summoned to present themselves to Pharaoh. Along with Kiya and several guards they stood near the Royal Quay amongst minor officials waiting to greet their king. The high officials accompanying Ramesses disembarked and formed a line next to the gangplank. Ramesses rose and strode purposefully towards the gangplank, face serene beneath the heavy Pschent Crown of the Two Lands. As he stepped onto the shore a huge roar came from the crowd, which prostrated itself before him.
Except for Nikolas and the Royal Guards all those present fell to their knees and pressed their foreheads to the dirt. Nikolas thought it all rather ostentatious and overdone.
Ramesses inclined his head in acknowledgement and raised his right hand in a gesture of benediction before moving off on foot the short distance to the polished bronze-clad double-doored gate set in the massive gleaming whitewashed mud-brick walls of the nearby palace, his close family members and the palace officials falling into line behind him.
As Pharaoh passed from view Nikolas saw a welcome face approaching, Kahun with two soldiers at his back.
“Hey you old pederast!” shouted Kahun to his brother. “How did things go?”
“A bit rocky. We had some real problems, you stay-at-home ian pHwy baboon’s arsehole!” responded Pamose affectionately. “We’ll tell you the full story when we can. A lot of dirty water has passed under the boat since we last met.”
“Alright, you and Nikolas are expected to present yourselves at the palace at midafternoon, by order of imy-xnt per aa Chancellor Zineb. I’m not sure if the little man wants to speak to you himself or to get you to see Divine Ramesses, so you’d better be there!”
Kahun, Nikolas, Pamose, Lorentis and Kiya moved to a tavern fronting the square. The inn was already packed to the rafters with customers drawn by the parade, the crowd spilling out onto the street; waiters forced their way through crowded aisles balancing trays which held jugs of beer and plates of food. Seeing their approach and the obvious quality of their dress the taverner quickly cleared a table near the doorway, ushering the previous occupants away. The four hours until their appointment at the palace were spent exchanging news of the events of weeks since they had last met. Kahun was agog at their treatment at the hands of the bandits at Kharga and their enslavement by supposedly royal agents.
Nikolas and the others learned with regret of the fate of Userhet at Memphis, and learned that the body of Ra-em hotep, now embalmed, was following Pharaoh and expected to arrive in about a week. In the meantime the Court was to prepare the ceremonies for his interment.
At the appointed hour that afternoon, somewhat the worse for wear from the beer and wine consumed at the tavern during their wait, they presented themselves at the palace gate. The palace complex was huge, covering over seventy acres, and was surrounded by a massive whitewashed mud-brick wall decorated with faience tiles. On each side of the towering gatehouse were large painted religious symbols depicting the god Ptah for whom the month was named, and painted representations of the Apis bull that were three-times life-size. The huge bronze-clad wooden doors of the main gate stood open with a dozen impeccably turned-out soldiers armed with spears and swords on guard. Their names were checked against the list of persons with appointments and a guide was provided; the guide was indeed needed as they didn’t proceed to the main hallway, but to an adjacent building that appeared to serve as administration offices. The palace complex was comprised of a large number of buildings connected by a labyrinth of enclosed corridors and hallways through which numerous servants and officials scurried.
Eventually they were ushered into a small private chamber. Zineb, the Royal Chamberlain, sat at a table in the middle of the room with two scribes sitting cross-legged on the floor to one side. Five stools had been placed in front of the table.
Nikolas was most surprised when Zineb rose to his feet politely and gestured to the stools, waiting until they had seated themselves before himself returning to his chair. A servant entered with a tray of refreshments and Nikolas’ party accepted cups of cooled fruit juice.
Nikolas was taken aback at the change of attitude in Zineb. At Memphis he had clearly seen them as insignificant and interfering interlopers. Now he was apparently treating them as a valuable source of information.
Zineb questioned them closely about the happenings since they had left Memphis, with the scribes taking notes as the conversation progressed. Zineb paid particular attention to the happenings both at Kharga and Thebes, occasionally making notes himself on a piece of papyrus while the scribes recorded full details of the report. When Nikolas had finished speaking Zineb instructed them all to return late that evening for an audience with Pharaoh.
They whiled away the intervening hours in an apartment in the guest quarters located in the west wing of the palace. To ensure that he was sober for the interview Nikolas made a point not to drink wine during the afternoon. This, together with a lucky run with the throwing of the knucklebones allowed him to scoop the pool in the board game of senet that the five of them played throughout the afternoon while they waited. Late that evening a servant arrived to conduct Nikolas, Lorentis, Pamose and Kahun to the royal apartments. As Nikolas rose from his chair to join the messenger he gestured to Kiya to join them. In anticipation of the trip to the palace she already wore her finest, but hesitated before following them into the presence of a god.
&n
bsp; When they were ushered into a small audience chamber Ramesses was seated on a gilded chair. The old man looked tired and worn. He was dressed simply, wearing none of the trappings of his office other than the linen nemes head-dress. Zineb stood to one side, behind and to Ramesses’ right. Other than the Chamberlain and two guards with spears at rest beside the doorway they were alone. Those entering genuflected, the Egyptians throwing themselves prostrate on the tiled floor and Nikolas giving a deep bow.
Ramesses had one elbow on the armrest of his chair and stroked his chin in reflection as he looked at Nikolas’ party as they entered.
A small patch of red skin on his chin seemed to be irritating him, a heat-rash from wearing the false beard of his regalia during the heat of the long day. Ramesses gestured for them to sit themselves on the floor. They did so, sitting cross-legged, Nikolas with some difficulty and discomfort.
Kiya, who had gazed about her with eyes filled with wonder at the palace and its occupants, looked in awe at her king seated just a few paces away. No person of common birth would ever have dreamed that they would have a private audience with their divine ruler.
“Well, you seem to have had an eventful time,” Ramesses commented in his thin dry voice. His hand toyed with a papyrus scroll on a small table next to his chair, a transcript of their interview with Zineb.
“Indeed, Sire,” replied Nikolas in careful Egyptian, avoiding needing Lorentis to translate. “But we’ve made little effective progress. It’s like the old saying ‘when you are being chased by crocodiles it’s hard to remember your job is to harvest the papyrus!’ Our time and ability to undertake the investigation were limited by the general situation of the local insurrection and the action taken specifically against us. The little that we have learned doesn’t seem to show any connection with the murder of Ra-em hotep, but does show either a general breakdown in lawful rule here in the South, or possibly – indeed probably – a plot for a wider revolt against your rule.”
Ramesses nodded slowly and smiled slightly at Nikolas’ perspicacity.
“Indeed you are right. Perhaps I’ve been too long at Pi-Ramesses and the North and neglected my rule here in the South. My governors don’t appear to have been diligent in ridding the countryside of bandits, nor controlling the army units stationed here. This year funds and goods flowing into the royal coffers have been markedly down, although the tax gathers have been as active as usual and the gods have been kind and sent us a good harvest last season. The funds have been going somewhere – but not to me! With less income I have less to redistribute to the people and the temples and less to pay the army. The royal exchequer is under some strain
“But more. The breakdown in law in the region is becoming endemic and people cannot travel in safety. The loyalty of some army units is in question. I believe that the brief revolt in Thebes is just a small visible showing of what lies under the surface. Even more worrying, the attack on the chief of the secret-police and his agents here in Thebes shows that organization has been penetrated and is no longer safe.
The rebels knew just which of our agents were working against them, and killing them has left us blind to their future actions. I can remove and replace the army, as I have, but it will take us many months to rebuild a network of agents and spies.”
Nikolas nodded his understanding. He wondered where this conversation was heading as kings do not idly chat with their minions
Kahun voiced this out loud. “Divine One, this is truly a terrible state of affairs, what can we do to help?”
‘That was not the question I was going to ask’ mused Nikolas to himself in disgust, ‘my question would have been Well that’s your problem, what are you going to do about it?’.
Ramesses continued, “Thebes, although the capital city of the South, the Upper Kingdom, is a long way north of the Nubian border. There’s a substantial garrison at Aswan. The complex of forts further south are vital to the protection of Upper Egypt. I must know whether the troops guarding the far south are loyal.”
Ramesses paused, his right hand, supported by the elbow resting on the arm of the chair, massaged his brow and temples tiredly. “Kahun and Pamose, I want you to join the garrison at Aswan and report back to me. You will take up positions on the staff there. Your cover will be that you are in disgrace for financial irregularities occurring in your previous commands. A loyal company of soldiers will travel south with you, but will not be at your immediate command. Nikolas and Lorentis, you’ll travel south under disguise. You’ll need to consider what best fits your situation.”
“But Sire, our engagement was to investigate the death of your son!” protested Nikolas. “This is not for the likes of us to investigate.”
Ramesses gave a flat hostile stare. “You will do as you are bid, Cretan. Recent events show that you aren’t part of any plot, and you are to be trusted. The good of the kmet, the realm in which you have chosen to live, demands it. Pharaoh demands it. You will be well rewarded, and if you succeed you’ll be rewarded beyond your dreams.”
“I don’t know! I can dream a lot!” shot back Nikolas.
Ramesses gave a small smile and clapped his hands indicating the audience was over and rose from his chair. “You’ll leave within the week,” he said, as the others in the room again prostrated themselves in obeisance to show respect (this time Nikolas’s bow wasn’t quite as deep), and then he strode out of the room through a side doorway.
“You have your instructions,” said Zineb gruffly. “You may draw what money or other resources you need from me tomorrow. In the meantime there are rooms for you in the guest-quarters tonight. Do as you are bid!”
Nikolas demanded that there would be no contact with the secret-police at Aswan. Nikolas and his party would investigate separately, and a separate route for communication with the palace would be implemented, using the royal clerical services. “We achieved nothing when we have relied on the secret-police for information, and suffered much. We’ll do things our own way this time!”
Nikolas went to the Grand Market with Kiya and ordered some supplies they would need; on a whim, given his usual slight difficulty in walking, he bought a specially made wooden walking-staff with a concealed thin sword. On returning to the palace they met with Kahun, Pamose and Lorentis in Lorentis’ rooms.
“Well done, Kahun,” he said sarcastically. “I thought we’d finished. We’ve been attacked, captured, enslaved, forced to work in mines and escaped. We’ve done everything we had been asked to do and were able to return to the North, but you had to volunteer our services again! I really don’t understand why we were asked to investigate the murder in the first place and now we’re apparently expected to discover the details of a political and military rebellion. It’s ridiculous!”
“But Nikolas, Pharaoh and Egypt need our assistance and it’s our duty to help!” said Lorentis in a patriotic fervour.
Nikolas bit back his angry reply that it might be their duty, but wasn’t his. No matter how angry he was he could recognize an argument that he couldn’t win. Pharaoh’s command meant they were committed whether he wished it or not.
Kiya, in a display of her increasing self-confidence commented with perspicacity, “I don’t think we are expected to succeed, not in either investigation. We’re the sacrificial goats who are tied to a stake in the desert as bait for lions, so that the real hunters can then kill the lion. Nobody expects the goat to kill the lion, and I don’t think Ramesses or Zineb expect us to find either the murderer or the details of the rebellion. Our bleating in the wilderness is expected to attract the attention of those Ramesses hunts and to make them show themselves – yet again.”
“And nobody cares if the tethered goat is killed, even if the lion escapes,” noted Pamose thoughtfully.
Nikolas nodded agreement. “I think you’re right Kiya. We’ll just need to make sure that we aren’t a tethered goat, but a leopard in disguise ready to use tooth and claw in attack, or to run if the foe is too strong.”
Not lo
ng afterwards he and Kiya left to go to their own room, where they spoke in privacy. Kiya had the simple and straightforward approach of the common folk; if you were being forced against your will, even if you couldn’t enjoy it you could try to turn it to your advantage. “We’re stuck with having to do this whether you want to or not, and as Lorentis said it is important to Egypt. Ramesses wouldn’t seek our involvement without need. He has much more important things to do, unless he truly sees this as a priority and sees us as having some chance of achieving what he wants. I’d presume he sees the murder and the rebellion as being related, which makes some sense from what we’ve found out and what has happened so far. What we must do is minimize the risk and maximize the benefit to us.”
Nikolas was impressed with Kiya’s perception, reasoning and logic. Furthermore his interest had been piqued and he did want to be in at the end of the investigation, but he preferred to cry ‘rape’ rather than meekly sit back while being shafted. Next morning, as Kiya had suggested, they went to see Zineb.
Once again the small man was crouched behind his desk, with a pile of papyrus scrolls as a barricade against the world. Nikolas knew that he had him by the short hairs. “Look Zineb, this is horse-shit. I made an agreement with Pharaoh to investigate Ra-em hotep’s death, which still needs work to complete. Since then I’ve been attacked three times, including once for a whole night by a large group of assassins. I’ve been captured, illegally enslaved and forced to work in one of Pharaoh’s own mines – nearly worked to death! This is well above and beyond what I agreed to. Now Pharaoh waves his hand and says ‘Go to Aswan, and if you don’t get killed see if you can find something out.’ The man spends millions on a secret-police force, but when the going gets tough he asks five rank amateurs to pull his prick off the chopping block for him. Zeus! Does the man want me to shit for him every day as well?”
Murder in the Palace: A Nikolas of Kydonia Mystery Page 23