Samir nodded.
“Agreed, but the question is: what? There’s nothing in M’Dahz we can do, short of crime, and those folk who fled to Calphoris are probably as poor and hungry as we are. If Faraj was still alive…”
Ghassan nodded in silence.
“We have to leave M’Dahz though, Samir.” His eyes darkened. “We need to avenge mother, whatever you say.”
“Survival, not vengeance, Ghassan.”
“Both.” The taller brother straightened. “I’ll bet the Imperial army is still functioning in Calphoris. We can sign up with them and protect the rest of the Empire against Pelasia; possibly even drive Ma’ahd back out of M’Dahz in time.”
Samir shook his head.
“Even if the army is still in Calphoris, if we signed up, they’d send us to the other side of the world where the men are all pale with fair hair and it get so cold the water becomes solid. But Calphoris will have lost Imperial support by now, brother. The Empire is so far away and crumbling. Calphoris will be on its way to becoming what M’Dahz is now.”
Ghassan shrugged.
“Perhaps that would be better still. They will still have a militia and will be watching the satrap carefully. And their militia will be far larger and stronger than ours, as Calphoris is a big city. And if it’s the militia we can probably lie about our age easier.”
Samir was still shaking his head.
“That’s not the way, Ghassan. To sell ourselves into military service? It’s a waste of our talents. There will be other paths that will open to us.”
The taller brother shrugged.
“We have to leave M’Dahz. That is clear, Samir. South into the deep desert is unthinkable. Neither of us has the slightest idea how to survive there. West is Pelasia and, given our current situation, I do not think that would be an advisable choice. No ships that dock here travel across the sea to the north and, anyway, the north is cold and their water turns solid and chills the bones. That just leaves east to Calphoris. Whether you think the army or the militia are a bad idea or not, there is now simply nowhere else to go, my brother.”
Samir sighed and nodded.
“That much is true, yes, though I would rather try to make my fortune there than become a soldier and die in a border war for someone else’s good. We are clever and enterprising, Ghassan. We saved Asima’s father from poverty.”
They lapsed once more into an uncomfortable silence. The subject of Asima’s father was a touchy one that neither brother felt comfortable dealing with at this point. They had become aware of Asima’s fate when those who had been under the governor’s protection found themselves suddenly without support. A few had disappeared without trace, presumably having fallen foul of the satrap for some reason, but the rest had been forcibly ejected from the complex into the town, their more valuable belongings impounded beforehand, to make their way as ordinary citizens.
The boys had spoken to a group of survivors, eager for news of the friend of whom they had seen nothing in so many months. The fact that Asima and the other girls had been sent to Akkad for the God-King’s pleasure was something that neither brother had so far allowed themselves to ponder on. Still, this meant that she was safe, at least. Her father, however, had been found by the satrap’s vizier and had last been seen disappearing into Ma’ahd’s palace.
“Very well.” Ghassan stretched. “We can agree that whatever we do next, we need to do it in Calphoris?”
Samir frowned and bit his lip. The idea of abandoning everything and committing to the provincial capital for the future felt like a betrayal and, though Ghassan’s logic was unassailable, Samir had his plan. Finally he nodded.
“We head east. Have you given any thought to how and when?”
Ghassan shrugged.
“As soon as possible. And on foot, I suppose. It’s not as though we can afford camels or horses.”
Samir smiled and reached behind him, rummaging in his pack. A moment later, he withdrew a small hessian bag that was clearly heavy and which clinked when he dropped it to the table. Ghassan stared.
“That’s money?”
Samir nodded.
“From where?”
“It belonged to Asima’s father. I doubt it will do him any good right now wherever he is.”
“You stole from Asima’s father?”
Outrage pushed Ghassan’s voice up a notch and the question ended in almost a squeak.
“After a fashion. They had already gone to the palace when I found this. Their house had been turned upside down by Pelasian soldiers, and I can assure you that they took everything he had that was of any real value.”
“So how did you find that?”
Samir gave a cheeky grin.
“I’ve known where he kept his emergency fund for a long time, Ghassan.” He straightened. “And this is an emergency.”
Removing two pouches from a nearby cupboard, he neatly divided what looked to Ghassan like a small fortune, dropping half into each container. With a nod, he slid one pouch across the table to his brother and tied the thongs of the other to his belt, tucking the pouch down into his pocket for added security.
Ghassan frowned.
“Why are you splitting it now?”
For a moment, Samir flinched slightly. Then he smiled. “Just in case. One man carrying too much money is asking for an unfortunate accident.”
He straightened once more.
“We will need to leave tonight, while it is dark. In fact, if we wait until the early morning, we can leave when the moon passes to the underworld. That should give us almost two hours at this time of year to get past the walls and out along the coast before sunrise.”
“That seems sensible” Ghassan agreed. “We should leave as far from a gate as we can. The port is out of the question, though, as I’ve heard Ma’ahd is having shipping watched and searched now.”
Samir nodded.
“There’s a place not too far from the eastern end of the port where the walls are very close to a number of warehouses. We can get into the warehouses before the moon rises fully and wait out the night there. We’ll need some rope to get down the other side of the walls, but then we can be half a dozen miles away from M’Dahz before the sun comes up.”
“About ten miles along the coast is a village with an animal market. Asima’s father used to trade with them. I’ve never been there, clearly, but I suspect his name will carry some weight there.” He picked up the pouch in front of him and tied it to his belt. “And now we can afford a horse.”
Samir answered with a grin, his heart racing now. This was the time.
“There is one more thing, though.”
Ghassan shrugged.
“Yes?”
“I have something else to do before we go and it could be dangerous…”
The taller boy frowned.
“What?”
Samir winked and touched the side of his nose.
“I’m afraid I can’t tell you yet, Ghassan, but I will reveal all later.”
“How am I supposed to help if you won’t tell me what you’re doing?”
“You’re not supposed to help,” Samir countered. “Sorry, Ghassan, but I’m doing this alone. Go to the warehouses in the Street of Running Dogs as soon as the sun sets. There are three buildings in a row. The central one was a grain warehouse and has the best access to the wall. There’s only a jump of about four feet. We can do that in our sleep, and there should be a lot of rope in there for us to use.”
Ghassan held up his hands to object, but Samir pushed them out of the way.
“This is not a negotiation, Ghassan. I will meet you at the warehouse before the moon sets and we will run for Calphoris. But… and this is important… if anything happens and I cannot get there, you cannot afford to wait. If the moon sinks and I am not there, you must go. If I can, I will find you in Calphoris later.”
The taller boy was still shaking his head and objecting vehemently.
“Ghassan,” Samir said quietly, “you must do this, as must I. Do not panic. I will in all likelihood be there.”
Ghassan continued his refusal.
“How in the name of the seven faces of Ha’Rish would you find me in Calphoris? There are more people there than anywhere else on this continent!”
“You know me, brother. I could find a single rock in all of the deep desert if I set my mind to it. Now promise me: wait for me, but only as long as you can. When there is full darkness, whether I am there or not, you will run for Calphoris.”
Ghassan remained silent, his eyes locked on his brother.
“Ghassan!”
“Alright. But you had better be there, or I shall curse your name to the Gods.”
Samir grinned.
“Tonight we end the curse, Ghassan. From tonight, we will be blessed. Changes. Things will be better, remember?”
Ghassan took a deep breath and nodded.
“Then I will run to my errand and I will see you by moonlight in the grain warehouse on ‘Running Dogs’ yes?”
Ghassan nodded once again and the pair clasped hands.
With a smile, Samir hoisted his pack over his shoulder, cast one last look at his brother, and then walked slowly to the front door and left the house.