After dinner she took her rest, bathing and preparing for her nights with Eskkar. They enjoyed sitting in the square, talking about everything that happened during the day. Other times they went up onto the roof above Eskkar’s house, where they could talk with even more privacy. They sat holding each other, or with Lani leaning back against him, so that his hands could touch her hair, her breasts, or other more intimate parts.
When they retired for the night, safe behind the barred door, they had little to say, speaking only with their bodies before falling into a deep and restful sleep. For Lani, weeks passed before her nightmares ended. Until then, she would wake up in a panic, unable to breathe, too frightened to scream, often unaware of where she was. Over time those terrors faded away, if not gone, at least banished from her dreams for longer and longer periods.
At first those dreams unsettled Eskkar. He’d never helped a woman with her private terrors before. Trella, too, had been frightened, but Trella had never known the horrors of a man like Ninazu, and Trella’s fears of the future centered about the unknown. For Lani, the unknown had proven all too terrible in reality, a reality that had gone on far too long. As he discovered more about her, he helped calm her fears.
It took time for Eskkar to comprehend all this, but as the weeks drifted by, he realized he understood more not only about Lani, but about Trella as well. Often he found himself comparing the two women, their emotions, their lovemaking, even their hopes. And so when Lani fell asleep in his arms, Eskkar often remained awake, wondering about himself.
Again and again he cursed his own weakness. He loved Trella no less, and he knew it was only because of her that he could understand Lani. But as the nights went by, he saw his feelings for Lani grow, not lessen.
Two weeks after its liberation, Bisitun settled into a routine. That let Eskkar ride out each morning to inspect the countryside. Taking along Grond and a handful of men, they started with the surrounding farms, widening the circle around the village. For the first few excursions, they returned each night. But as the circle widened, they camped overnight under the stars, then continued on their journey the next day. After a few such camps, Eskkar realized how much he missed Lani’s lovemaking, and after that, he made sure nearly every day’s journey ended back at Bisitun.
The next day, they would change horses and ride out again. One by one, Eskkar visited every farm and every herdsman within a day’s journey from Bisitun. He talked to farmers and their wives, asked about the land and the crops, and explained Akkad’s role to humble peasants who’d never traveled more than a day’s walk from their place of birth. To his surprise, Eskkar found this more satisfying than capturing a dozen villages.
Everywhere they went, Eskkar found the farmers and herders much the same. At first frightened, then curious, then eager to talk with the warrior who had beaten the barbarians and driven Ninazu away. Eskkar spoke with all of them, and he learned more about the problems of the small farmers and herders than he ever thought he could comprehend. Thus he gathered ideas from many sources, ideas that would make life safer and easier both on the farm and in the village. He went over these with Sisuthros each night during the evening meal.
One impressed farmer questioned Eskkar, asking how a soldier came to know so much about farms and crops. Eskkar smiled, remembering the days when he’d known nothing about the mysteries of earth, water, and seed. Trella and Noble Rebba had spent a whole day showing and explaining the secrets needed to bring forth wealth from the earth.
Twice Eskkar and his men encountered small parties of men on horseback, who took one look at them and fl ed. They caught up with one of these, three men whose only business looked to be thieving or raiding.
Grond and the soldiers made short work of them, and the local people again gave thanks to their deliverer.
Six weeks after Ninazu’s execution, peace covered the land around Bisitun. By then Eskkar had met with almost all of the farmers, not only met them, but he’d spoken with them, discussed what they needed, what they feared, what they hoped for. No one had ever heard of such encounters before. The people were amazed someone from as far away as Akkad would not only want to protect them, but that he actually listened and showed concern for their lives and their problems.
Of course many complained about the new tax to be charged when they brought their goods to Bisitun for sale, but most declared themselves willing to pay if Eskkar could keep the bandits and raiders away from their farms and families.
Trella had set the amount of the tax, set it low enough so as not to cause hardship. She had explained to Eskkar before he left for the north that the real taxes would be paid by the merchants and traders in Bisitun and Akkad. They would still grow wealthy, but they, too, had to pay for the walls and soldiers who protected them and their dealings.
In Akkad, Trella had begun changing the customs. Each week Eskkar listened to her messenger describe her plans for establishing new laws, creating a new House for the clerks, and inventing new symbols to aid the farmers and craftsmen. Once all this would have overwhelmed Eskkar, but now he not only saw the need for such changes, but understood what impact they would have on Akkad’s inhabitants.
In the clans of his youth, life seldom changed. The people knew their role, their place in life, and the duties they owed to clan and family. Men hunted, and followed their clan leaders into battle. Women raised children, gathered and prepared food, and managed the herds and wagons.
Each day resembled the one before, and the one to come tomorrow.
Villages, Eskkar now realized, couldn’t be ruled like a steppes clan.
Every village changed constantly, with new people arriving or departing.
More people required more food and more craftsmen to serve the surrounding farmers and herders. Even the crops varied from year to year, with abundance often replaced by scarcity. Akkad, with so many more people living within its walls, had become ungovernable by the old ways.
No, Eskkar knew, the old practices must yield to new ways of thinking. And what better place to begin than in Bisitun. And so laws replaced the old and vague customs of the past, and the ruling council of Bisitun settled disputes fairly, without favoring the leading merchant and nobles.
By now Sisuthros governed the village effi ciently, and complaints became fewer in number and minor in nature. The villagers created a new, more permanent council of elders, and they worked with Sisuthros and his clerks each day to insure farmers sold their produce peacefully, craftsmen worked in safety in their shops, and merchants resumed trade not only with one another but up and down the great river.
Eskkar had accomplished what he’d set out to achieve. For the first time in almost a year, there were no barbarians to drive off, no bandits or marauders to chase and destroy, and the people of Bisitun had started putting their lives back together. With nothing of import to do, he took his ease, something he’d never done before, letting himself relax and enjoying the peaceful days.
Eskkar knew he should return to Akkad, to help Trella manage the city’s burgeoning growth. Instead he remained in Bisitun, watching the days slip by. Of course, he told himself Sisuthros still needed him, that he stayed in Bisitun to help organize the village. In truth, the thought of returning to Akkad with all its scheming and petty problems weighed on him, and he wanted to postpone his return as long as possible.
Instead, on the days he didn’t travel the countryside, he spent more and more of his time with Lani. They started their day after the common breakfast, when Sisuthros went off to deal with the problems of the day.