“Please forgive me, Korthac,” Trella interrupted, “but you may speak plainly here.” She knew a visitor would be expected to praise Akkad to the skies, to flatter its rulers and important citizens. “We wish to hear the truth about the lands to the west. Those few who come to us from afar are mainly lost men or desert wanderers, who understand little about the ways of village and farm. Such as those can tell us little.”
Korthac looked at Trella carefully before continuing. “In truth, Lady Trella, Egypt is a vast and fertile land of many villages, some of them larger than Akkad. Egypt has much gold and silver, as well as great fl ocks of cattle and other beasts. The numbers of its people are beyond counting.”
“Do these villages have walls around them?” Corio sounded unconvinced.
“Many do, Noble Corio,” the stranger answered calmly. “Not all, but some have raised walls such as yours for protection, to keep out bandits or invaders.”
“Akkad is the first village in these lands to build a fortified wall to protect itself,” Corio added, a hint of skepticism showing through. “A strong wall is not such an easy thing to raise.”
“I can only tell you what I have seen, Noble Corio,” Korthac said, raising his hands slightly in deference. “Lady Trella asked me to speak the truth, and I have done so.”
“Then we should thank you for your honesty, Korthac,” Trella said, again speaking before Corio could reply. “But now, it grows late and the council still has some business to attend to. Would you be able to call upon us tomorrow, say, at the hour before noon? Then we will have time to speak with you at leisure and you can tell us much more about what you have seen in your travels and this land called Egypt.”
Korthac took the dismissal gracefully. He stood and bowed respectfully. “Of course, Lady Trella, I understand. I will return at that hour.”
Trella had risen when he did and she bowed as well, giving Korthac a pleasant smile as he left the room. She waited until he stepped out of earshot before she turned to Corio and Gatus. “This stranger took a great chance, crossing the desert with such valuable trade goods, with only the hope of establishing a House here in Akkad.”
“Whatever his reasons,” Corio answered, “he is here and with his goods. Every merchant adds to the wealth of Akkad. Let him establish his trading house, if he can pay his tax of twenty gold coins.”
“No, Corio,” Trella said firmly, “I think not. Tomorrow we will tell him that he must pay forty gold coins if he is to do business here.”
“Ishtar’s eyes, Trella,” Gatus swore, “Mantar wailed for days when he had to pay twenty. He claimed he would be reduced to begging in the streets. And that only a month ago.”
“Still, Mantar paid the tax,” Trella said. “And remember, Korthac is a stranger. Mantar lived here all his life.”
Mantar dealt in livestock, mostly goats and sheep, that supplied milk and cheese. He had complained bitterly about the amount of the tax, but he had been one of those who fled the city before the barbarians arrived, and now had to pay to reestablish himself. Trella had no sympathy for those who had refused to defend Akkad.
“And I doubt Korthac will cry as loud as Mantar did,” Trella said.
“I think it is important to learn as much about Korthac as possible.” She turned to Gatus. “How many men were in his caravan, how many slaves, how many animals? What kind of people did he bring with him? Find out where he is staying and talk to the innkeeper. Let us all see what we can find out, and we’ll meet here tomorrow at midmorning. We can speak about this before we see Korthac again. I will make sure Nicar is here as well. He sees much in men that we may miss.”
The Noble Nicar had led the city before the invasion, and had entrusted the city’s defense to Eskkar. Nicar had also given Eskkar a slave girl named Trella.
“What is it about Korthac that worries you, Lady Trella?” Corio sounded surprised at her concern. “He seemed polite enough.”
Trella shrugged. “Nothing worries me yet, Corio. But we can afford to be cautious. And isn’t it strange that a merchant would cross the great desert at such risk, before he was sure of what awaited him here? Was he unaware that the Alur Meriki were passing through these lands, killing anyone they encountered? Why didn’t he send an emissary ahead of him?”
Corio opened his mouth to reply, then closed it again. In the last few months, he’d learned not to dismiss her thoughts.
“Think on it, Corio,” Trella went on. “And you, too, Gatus. Let us all learn what we can. Now if you will excuse me, my body calls to me once again.”
She walked into the front room, her two guards rising as she entered.
Her friend and companion Annok-sur waited for her as well, getting to her feet as Trella crossed the room. The two women stepped side by side into the square and began the walk back to Eskkar’s house. One guard walked ahead of them, the other behind. Both men kept their hands on their swords and their eyes moving about.
Only a few months ago Eskkar’s enemies attacked Trella in the street and nearly killed her. The men who tried to assassinate her had died under the torture. In a true barbarian rage, Eskkar had threatened to burn the city to the ground and kill every inhabitant if it happened again. No one doubted him. And so the guards remained wary and suspicious, exactly as Eskkar and Gatus instructed. They didn’t want to face Eskkar’s wrath or their own shame should another attempt on Trella’s life take place.
Annok-sur, as alert as any of the guards, stayed close beside Trella.
The wife of one of Eskkar’s subcommanders, Annok-sur had nearly twice Trella’s seasons. Her husband Bantor and a group of soldiers had departed Akkad a few days before Eskkar left for the north. By now Bantor’s force would have ranged far to the south of Akkad, carefully watching from afar the progress of the retreating barbarian migration, and making sure they did not double back for another attack on Akkad. The barbarians had been driven off, but they still had many warriors, and rumors of their presence, even as the distance grew, still frightened Akkad’s inhabitants.
“Something troubles you, Trella?”
“Yes, Annok-sur, but we will speak of it when we are home.”
Korthac returned to the modest inn he’d picked for himself and his men. Walking through the lanes, he ignored the open-mouthed stares of the villagers. Although the clothing he and his bodyguard wore came from these lands, their darker complexions, burnished even deeper by months in the sun, marked them as strangers and worse, foreigners.
Nevertheless, Korthac smiled pleasantly at anyone who caught his eye, offering greetings and friendly nods. He needed to gain acceptance from these simple folk. There would be plenty of time to teach them proper respect later on. Then they would kneel in the dirt when he passed, afraid to lift their eyes to his lest they lose their heads.
More than a month had passed since he left Magabad. He’d entered Akkad with only sixteen men, carefully chosen to make sure they looked more like servants and laborers than fighting men. The rest of his force remained far to the west, awaiting his summons while Ariamus roamed the countryside seeking men willing to fight for gold, even with foreigners at their side.
Fortune had smiled on Korthac when it delivered Ariamus to him.
Korthac couldn’t image a more perfect tool. Ariamus knew the city and the countryside, knew the people, and knew how to command the rabble that would soon sweep Korthac to power. The man’s desires for power and wealth made him easy to control. As long as Ariamus remained obedient and loyal, he would continue to be useful. Korthac remembered the astonishment in Ariamus’s eyes when he saw the bags of gemstones. The man’s greed would be the halter in Korthac’s firm hands.
Korthac had brought two bags of jewels with him, more than enough to establish himself in Akkad. In a few days or a week, he would grudgingly pay whatever trivial sum the Akkadians demanded of him. After that, he’d buy a house and set up a base of operations. He would bring more of his men into Akkad by ones and twos, increasing their number while he established an innocent trade in gemstones with the local merchants.