by Lazlo Ferran
“She is a healer and a Shaman,” he said. “She says you have a very strong, even a great, spirit and she would be very pleased to help you. She is asking if you are prepared to stay until after sunset, when she will best be able to communicate with the Great Spirits.”
I only needed to consider for a moment before answering. Any sort of help was welcome in the present situation and to find friendly faces in this land, at this time, was doubly welcome.
“Yes.”
We rested as the old women made preparations, boiling up some of the mutton and other ingredients. First one, then another, then all three started singing and kept singing until finally the Sun had vanished and a still silence could take over.
“She asks you to sit here.”
The old woman pointed to a cushion on the opposite side of the low table to herself and then she lay out four small bowls in front of me.
“Do not ask what is in them but eat them, all of the contents, when she points to them.”
The old woman then started chanting with her eyes closed and continued repeating for some time the melody but not the words, before suddenly she stopped and pointed her crooked finger at the first bowl.
I lifted the bowl to my mouth, with both hands and drank the contents. There were large hard bits in it but all slid easily into my mouth. It did not taste too bad, salty and slightly pungent. The hard items were crunchy. I replaced the bowl and she started singing again. It was a different tune.
Again she continued for a long time before suddenly stopping and pointing to the second bowl. This one looked less appetising, green, soupy, with some things that looked suspiciously like insect legs sticking out.
I took a small ladle, next to the bowl, and, as eagerly as I could pretend, finished the contents. I did not like the taste but liked the texture even less.
She started singing and this time the tune was like the first but an octave lower and the words were barely audible. It had a drone like quality and made me feel sleepy. I began to see flashing lights around the room, or thought I did, and things seems to move in and out of focus. It was much as things are, when one is on the edge of sleep and I did not feel alarmed.
Again she stopped and again I drained a bowl, filled with a brown liquid. This one tasted good, like mare’s milk, mixed with something sweet. It tasted strongly alcoholic. I licked my lips and she watched me intently.
She began singing again, even lower, and I was surprised at how low her voice was. Almost like a man’s. I felt really drowsy and noticed my head jolting forwards several times with its weight seeming too great to hold up.
She must have said something sharply to me, because I was not aware of what had just happened, when I found myself reaching for the last bowl. It had something green in it, much like grass, but with serrated leaves. It smelled pungent and slightly fruity.
When I had finished it, she took both my hands and, while singing, the same melodic, hypnotic drone, she washed them gently with water from a basin she had next to her on the floor. She took her time, washing in between each finger and touching all the joints in turn. She seemed to see things there, which I could not and occasionally, seemed to withdraw into herself for a moment, while still singing.
She took a sheaf of green grass, lying on a mat next to her and gathered it into a tight band, which she then wrapped around my left hand, enclosing all the fingers but leaving my thumb free. She bound the grass to my hand using strands of green twine. It was comfortable but felt strange. It was also strange that it appeared to be simply grass. It was the same grass that grew everywhere in these parts.
Finally she said a small prayer and then stopped. She said something to Ahmed.
“She says she knows what you are looking for, even if you do not know yourself. The grass will help you find it. Do not take it off until you have found it.”
The old woman said something else.
“You may ask questions, if you have any.”
I thought for a long while. This woman had seemed to understand my need so well and any questions I could think of, seemed so insignificant in comparison.
I shook my head and immediately she stood up and suddenly the room came back into focus. I had not realised how far away it had seemed. It had seemed almost as if the walls of the tent were miles away.
The old woman spoke again. Ahmed translated.
“She says she knows you want to leave. You must rest for one hour before leaving.”
I laid down and must have fallen asleep, for the next thing I knew was Ahmed touching my shoulders.
“It has been one hour.”
“We must leave.”
I did not want to stay with the women. I did not want Korim to send men to kill them.
We only moved a few hundred sachine before making camp, posting guards around the perimeter.
That night I dreamed of Shakira again. Her warm breasts and her lovely red nipples filled my thoughts. I wanted to get on my horse and ride to her. I rolled over and noticed my left hand was wrapped in something strange. This woke me up and then I remembered what it was. I lay on my back, listening to the gentle breeze, rustling the grass near my tent.
I awoke early and raised the others. We ate a quick breakfast of mutton, bread and apples, given to us by the women, washed down with tea and then left, moving again west.
I was drawn to let my horse walk closer and closer to the edge of what was now a very steep slope, almost a cliff, on the edge of the valley. Soon, the river-bed was right beneath us and the edge had become a cliff, perhaps ten sachine high.
“What are you looking for?” asked Geb.
The idea was only half formed in my mind.
“I don’t know. Cover. Shelter. A place to hide five hundred men.”
Just ahead, the edge of the precipice curved out to a promontory, where one could stand and look back to the base of the cliff we were now at the top of. I urged my horse around to the promontory. The men stopped their horses and let me go on. They were not keen to risk their lives and their horses on such rocky ground. I reached the edge and leaned over in the saddle, looking back behind me.
Suddenly my head seemed to reel. The grass around my hand was hot. It had become warmer since I had seen the promontory but perhaps I hadn’t noticed,
I felt as if I was about to fall off my horse. I heard Ahmed calling to me. “Be careful!”
I saw, at the base of the cliff, a cave in the shape of an upturned plate or the upturned half of a clam. It was a space large enough for several hundred men on horseback. Suddenly, the Sun seemed to be shining from the shape. I nearly did fall off my horse. Everything became a blur, out of focus, and I had to rely on my sense of balance, to pull myself upright in the saddle and command the horse to ride away from the edge.
Reaching the others I said to them, “I think we have found it.”
“But that’s impossible! They can hide down there. That’s for sure. But then they can’t get back to the Battle without riding along the river and then they will be seen!” It was Abdil’khan, saying only what the others thought. I had taken an engineer out there, along with Abdil, and this was what they thought.
“Wait. We will look along here.”
We rode slowly west, looking for a way down. A little further along, the ground sloped down to a point only about three sachine above the river-bed. It was treacherous ground and dismounting, I slipped and slid down to the lip, before calling back, that I thought it was possible.
“Could you build a ramp up from there?” I asked the engineer. “Using piled earth and some planks to reinforce it?” I added, seeing his doubt.
“Hmm.” He raised his eyebrows, for the first time, seeing the possibility. “Yes. I think so.”
“Good. You and your men, go back to the camp, get some men to help you and some wood and come back here. When you have it ready, I want you to take the planks and hide them and yourselves in that cave. Geb will join you in three days’ time. Understand?”
“Yes Sire.”
“Good. Now the rest of us must finish this tour, as soon as possible. We will ride flat out.”
Three days left
And we did, all that day, staying close to the ridge.
“Can you see any signals?” I asked Geb several times. He said he had seen several far out in the valley and we all saw horsemen, several times between us and the mountains. Here though, the valley rose only gently up to where we were, the river being in the centre of the valley again. I noticed Geb had not seen any signals in the stretch of valley, where we had seen the cave. Too at this point, there had not seemed any Enemy patrols in the cultivated area.
We rode hard, late into the night and stopped only for a few hours at midday, next day.
Two days left
I knew we must reach the northern edge of Korim’s annexed land, before turning back. I had to be sure he did not have a second Garrison or more troops hiding somewhere.
Just after setting off, after our noon halt, we saw a wide valley opening in the mountains to our right. The desert stretched away into the distance to our left, no longer a valley and the wilderness, only gradually became grassy, just west of our spot. I could see nowhere left for troops to hide. We stopped. I looked at the waste ahead of us and could only see parched weeds and sand and grit. A hot breeze blew in our faces and grit occasionally stung our skin.
“There is nothing here.” I said quietly. “Let’s go back.”
We turned and rode hard until late into the night, when, for the first time, we saw a sliver of the new moon.
We rose early and continued riding. We were riding closer to the mountains, on the way back and I turned to Geb. “We are opposite that hind place now, aren’t we?”
Geb thought for a moment. “Yes. I think we must be.”
“I haven’t seen any patrols in the last few hours. Have you?”
“No.” I could see by the smile on his face that he recognised the small chance that we had.
“If you ride straight across to the mountains and keep close to them, you may be out of site of the watchers up there, I said” Pointing up to where we had seen he flashes of light, occasionally.
He nodded.
We rode into camp at last, an hour before noon.
Zhuan-zhuan was waiting.
“Have any of the scouts returned?” I asked him.
“Only two. The two from the east ridge. I will fetch them for you.”
“The ones for the west?”
“Must have been killed, I guess.”
I questioned the two scouts at length. As far as they knew, their compatriots had gone over the mountains and yes, they had seen down into Korim’s camp. They estimated he had, as I had expected, ten thousand men and as many horses. There were a number of buildings inside the camp, some housing horses, and, worse, there was plenty of water, taken from the stream. Perhaps he had dammed it to stop us getting any water. They had seen Korim striding about but could not get anywhere near close enough to take a shot at him.
“The mountain side is crawling with Enemy Scouts.”
“Yes. I know that now. Dismissed.”
To Geb and the others, I said they should get rest. “We have a big day ahead tomorrow.”
“Wake us all in six hours,” I told my guards
I forced myself to take rest too and found it surprisingly easy to sleep.
When I was woken up I felt fully refreshed and immediately started thinking about the plan of attack, as I dressed.
Stepping outside my tent, I saw Geb coming towards me.
“Geb. There is no time to waste. You and your men must leave just after sunset. Get them ready. I will hold a meeting of all the Generals in two hours.”
I had been formulating the plan for the last two days and had it pretty clearly set in my mind, as I had laid it out, drawing in some sandy soil, outside my tent.
“As you know. We attack at midday. Our main goal is to reach the wall and set fire to it.”
“Yedegei, you will take five hundred horses to the east flank, here, where the ground is rough and steep. It will be the roughest assault. I am counting on you to keep moving forwards, to keep the enemy busy.”
“Lord Abdil’khan, yours will the most crucial assault, here on the left flank. I want you to take five-hundred Infantry. Korim will use horses because he has them and because the ground is rougher here, on the flanks. I want him to believe he is strong enough to hold you, because we have a little surprise for him.”
“Zhuan-zhuan, you will take your Infantry up the centre here but these will be backed up by your Cavalry, held back in reserve behind, at the bottom of the slope, here. I need you to move slowly up the hill. Korim has plenty of horsemen inside his Fortress and I am counting on him bringing extra men out to face you, thinking he has got time to retreat, if he needs to.”
“Lord Kazangap. Five hundred of your infantry will stand next to Zhuan’zhuan’s here and march up the centre, forming one long line.”
“Lord Sabitzan and Lord Abutalip. Your two thousand Infantry and those remaining of Yedigei and Abdil’Khan’s will stay in reserve behind this rise here, some way off. You will move all your men into place before dawn so that Korim does not know the strength of our reserves.”
“I will be here with the reserve Cavalry of Zhuan’zhuan. Now the surprise is this. Geb will have his four hundred men concealed where none of the enemy can see him, some miles away. No matter where their spies are, they will not expect him.”
“Geb, an hour before noon, you will ride towards the mountains and keep to their side. We will sound horns in this camp, one half hour before the first attack, at noon. When you hear our horns again, which will sound out the first charge, you will position yourself so that you can arrive here on the left flank, only some ten minutes later.”
“By this time, Korim will have fully committed himself to a plan and I am betting he will consider his defense of this left flank, strong enough.”
“Geb, you will break through his defense here, which should already be weakened by Lord Abdil’khan’s men. When you are through, half your men will continue to the wall and set light to it. And the other half should turn and attack the enemy from behind.”
“If this is successful, Geb, you and your men, and Lord Abdil’Khan and his men, will reach the wall and set up covering fire, at the parapet, to stop the enemy sending down any nasty surprises and keep down the fire from bowmen.”
“When the wall is breached, you will take your men through and get to the gates and open them as quickly as possible. Is that clear?”
There were nods from all heads. There was a lot of thinking going on.
“Alright. It is nearly Sunset. Geb. You leave with your men and one hundred of Kazangap’s in one hour. Kazangap. You will accompany Geb to the valley here and then return. On the way out, I want you all to be as quiet as possible. On your return though Kazangap, make as much noise as you can. Make as much of the moonlight as you can too, to reflect your armour. Perhaps the enemy will not realise that four hundred men have left the camp. That is all. Any questions?”
There were none. Their faces looked grim but determined.
I watched Geb’s and Kazangap’s men leave, then sat down on a saddle, one of a pile of them, with a mug of tea. It had been a long day and I was wondering if I had ordered everything as best as I could.
Ahmed sat down beside me.
“Ahmed. It’s good to have somebody who’s not a military man, to talk to sometimes.” I paused. “Even after all the Military concerns I have, there is something else which worries me.” I looked at him, waiting for him to ask ‘What?’ He said nothing.
“I worry that we are too soft. That maybe we have forgotten how to be fierce, like our ancestors. These men of Korim’s are still like that. They are still fierce. I can see it in their eyes. They are undisciplined, yes. But then there are more of them than they need to defeat us. They could afford indiscipline. And if we cornered them, they would fight l
ike wolves. But would we? Could we?”
“Your men have the same blood coursing in them. And it will come to the boil in just the same way. If it is heated enough.”
I smiled at him. And then slapped him on the back.
“I am going to retire for the night. I just need to speak to Lord Abdil’kahan and Lord Yedigei. I will see you in the morning.”
I found the two Generals and told them to wake me before they left in the morning. Then I retired.
I slept well and then was woken by a Guard. “Sire!”
He had obviously been calling me, louder and louder. He smiled bemusedly.
I threw on an over-tunic and wandered outside. The air was actually quite cold. I was grateful for this. At last something was going in our favour. I had often regretted timing the attack for midday but now it would not be so hot.
It was still dark and I had to ask the Guards where the two Generals were assembling their men.
“Just east, Sire.”
I clutched my sides with my hands as I wondered through the long grass. I could see the occasional glint of steel in the faint moonlight and wondering around the rows of men, found Yedigei.
“Ready?”
“Almost, Sire.”
Suddenly my heart missed a beat and I had a sick feeling in my stomach. I had been awake but not really thinking, until this moment. This was the day! We would probably all die, or win the Battle, and the war, today. I said to myself it was a Great day but there was still an uneasy feeling in my stomach.
I found Abdil’khan.
“Are you ready?”
He grunted. “As always. We are just waiting for the young Yedigei’s lazy men.”
I looked at the front rank of the old Lord’s Battalion and I could see the men were scratching themselves, bleary eyed. They looked no better prepared than the other men.
The men were arranged in marching order, in total, 20 men wide and fifty deep, one half Abdil’khan’s and one half Yedigei’s.
