The merchant who owned the camels was a small wiry man of Oriental appearance, with a thin moustache that had waxed ends. He wore a black cloth cap on his head and red sandals on his feet that rose into a point at his toes. His steps were short and quick, and when we were introduced to him he held his hands clasped to his chest and smiled a great deal.
‘My name is Li Sung and I have a consignment of silk to sell to the Pharaoh of Egypt,’ his Parthian was impeccable.
I stood before him with Rsan and Godarz. ‘Greetings, Li Sung,’ I bowed my head to him, ‘you are most welcome.’
As his thirty camels, their attendants and guards crossed over the bridge, I walked beside him.
‘I have heard that you have opened a new route to Egypt, one which can save me much time,’ he said.
‘That is true.’
He nodded his head. ‘I have also heard that this route goes through territory that belongs to bandits.’
‘I have reached an agreement with the people to whom you allude. You will have safe passage through their territory. You will be able to use their watering holes, and they will offer you protection, subject to the usual customs duties, of course.’
‘Of course. I have travelled through your father’s kingdom for many years, and because you are his son I have decided to hazard this journey. Many eyes are upon me, King Pacorus.’
He was right in that, for if he reached his destination safely then many caravans would follow his. I knew what he was intimating at. His eyes did not blink as he looked at me. I blinked first.
‘Of course this one passage, this passage through Dura, shall be free of all charges, Li Sung,’ I said.
He smiled and bowed his head. ‘You are a most gracious king. I shall tell the emperor of your generosity.’
I allowed Li Sung to quarter his beasts and their valuable cargo inside the legion’s camp that night, and in the morning he moved out two hours after dawn. The previous afternoon I had sent a message to Haytham alerting him of Li Sung’s caravan, but I was still nervous as I watched the line of camels fade into the distance.
‘They will be quite all right,’ Gallia reassured me. ‘There is no reason why Haytham won’t keep his word.’
‘I know, but still.’
I had toyed with the idea sending an armed escort to protect the caravan, but that would be interpreted by Haytham as a sign that I did not trust him. It all came down to trust. Gallia laid a hand on my arm.
‘Have faith, Pacorus. Haytham will keep his word.’
And so he did, for after three days Byrd returned with news that Malik had met the caravan with a hundred warriors and was escorting it to Palmyra. Li Sung had paid the agreed tolls and nothing appeared untoward. Upon hearing this news the stress left me like the waters of a burst dam, and I hugged Byrd in gratitude, leaving him somewhat mortified.
‘I would like to go back and accompany caravan to Egypt, lord.’
‘Of course,’ I said, ‘I would like to know that it has reached its destination safely.’
Gallia watched him go the next day.
‘He has his eye on a woman,’ she said.
‘Byrd? I doubt it. He’s a solitary individual.’
‘That’s the image he portrays to the world, but underneath he craves love like all of us. Why else would he want to get back to the land of the Agraci?’
‘To reassure me that all is well with the caravan. He knows how important it is to me.’
She raised an eyebrow. ‘Did not you see the look in his eyes when he was talking about going back?’
I had no time for such trivialities. ‘I doubt Byrd even notices women, and anyway what sort of woman would want his life?’
Life went on at Dura. Weapons production in the city continued apace, though we established the leather tanning centre a few miles to the south of the city walls, as the stink in the Citadel would have been unbearable. Leather was something we all took for granted, though I for one was ignorant of how it was actually produced. So one day I rode to the tanneries to see for myself how animal skins were turned into leather. The foul odour of dung and urine greeted my nostrils about half a mile away. The overseer, a huge fat man who panted the whole time, showed me round his empire of filth.
The animal skins were first soaked in water to soften them, and then scoured to remove any flesh and fat. Afterwards they were soaked in urine and then scraped with a knife to remove any hair. The material was then bated in huge vats of animal dung mixed with water, the workers using their bare feet to knead the material. After this is was ready to be made into sandals, boots, vests, armour and waterskins. I watched the process until I was about to retch, then hastily thanked the overseer for his valuable efforts and fled the scene.
Far more enjoyable was observing the increasing number of mail shirts and weapons being manufactured. With production in full swing it was possible to fully equip one cohort a week, not only with mail shirts but also helmets, leather vests, swords and shields. The helmets had a reversed brim at the rear, cheek flaps and a forehead cross-brace as added protection against downward sword strikes made by a rider from the saddle. I had to confess that Godarz and Domitus had thought of every eventuality.
Domitus rotated each of his centuries through guard duty at the Citadel, and at the end of their week of standing at the gates and patrolling the walls the men were issued with their new weapons and armour. Then the century, resplendent in its shiny helmets, shields and mail shirts, would march back to camp. It was a clever ploy, for every man actually looked forward to guard duty at the Citadel. In this way the legion began to shape into a formidable-looking body. And every day the men were drilled relentlessly. ‘Train hard, fight easy’ was our motto. Learn drills until they become second nature, so when the fighting starts battles become nothing more than bloody drills.
Gallia and I allowed ourselves no indulgences; we didn’t even have crowns.
‘What use is a crown if your quiver is empty,’ she told me, and she was right.
And then, nearly two months after he had left Dura, Li Sung and his camels appeared out of the western horizon. Nergal himself brought me the news and I rode out of the city to meet the wily old fox. Once his men had watered and fed his beasts I invited him to the palace to eat with us. He sat next to me as a guest of honour as he told us all about his journey.
‘Palmyra is very green,’ he said, picking at the roast lamb that was laid before him, ‘a lush green island that stands like an emerald in the desert.’
‘And you encountered no trouble?’ I said.
He looked at me with narrowed eyes. ‘I know that the Parthians and Agraci have been foes, but you and Haytham are wise, I think. He accepted me as an honoured guest.’
‘And what will you tell your guild of merchants, Li Sung?’
He nodded and smiled, for this was the crux of the matter. He took a sip of his wine. ‘That we have a new route to Egypt.’
I personally led the escort that rode beside Li Sung and his camels across the pontoon bridge and into Hatran territory.
‘I hope to see you again, my friend,’ I told him.
‘I think that will be likely. The Egyptians have a great desire for our products. They pay handsomely for them.’
I did not doubt it. The rolled silk that he had carried in waxed leather tubes on his camels’ backs were literally worth a king’s ransom. And now his camels carried gold on their backs, gold for him and for his emperor. The last piece of the mosaic was now in place, and over the succeeding weeks an increasing number of caravans crossed the bridge at Dura on their way west. Prince Malik visited us often, occasionally bringing Rasha with him. As Gallia had promised, she had her own room in the palace, next to ours, with its own balcony overlooking the river. Malik was greatly interested in the legion and he would spend hours talking with Domitus in his headquarters in the Citadel, the ex-centurion, crop-haired and muscular, sitting opposite the long-haired desert warrior swathed in black robes. To my surprise, Malik could speak Latin, a consequence of his father having had him tutored in Alexandria as a child, and the two formed an unlikely friendship. Malik was always full of questions. He had an enquiring mind, and I thought would make a good king when his time came.