Qa'a (The First Dynasty Book 3)

by Lester Picker

  After resting for a few days, we ventured by caravan to the next deeper outpost. No sooner had we arrived then we were besieged by the supervisor.

  “Thank Horus you have arrived!” he said, breathless from running out to meet us. “You must hurry, Nomti. Terrible things are happening.”

  Once Nomti calmed the man down, he took us to the physicians’ tent, where a Horus priest I knew ministered to several men. He took the two of us aside.

  “There has been a killing,” he whispered to us. “I am trying to keep news from spreading.”

  “Killing or accident?” I asked.

  “With respect, Urshte, this is murder. His throat was slit.” The priest’s words made me feel weak. “And it was not a worker’s dispute. Of that I am certain.” I dared not question the priest, for I knew his work and knowledge of people to be excellent.

  “Is this the first?”

  The priest hesitated. “I cannot be sure. There have been reports, but I could not verify them. I have seen wounds from beatings, but people will not talk of them. They occur late at night, when a man relieves himself in the desert or is fast asleep. There have been whispered threats and some of the workers have left.”

  “Who does this?” Nomti asked. By now I felt a pain in my stomach and the hairs stood along my back.

  “They are not Kemians, of that I feel reasonably sure. But the few soldiers that we have refuse to patrol past the perimeter of the work site, for they fear an ambush. You must do something or next year we will have too few men to work the canal.”

  The next day, in order to bolster the morale of the workers, Nomti made a big show of touring their works and lavishing praise upon those crews who worked hard and had accomplished much. Word spread that he was back and that he would put an end to the threats that the men faced.

  He immediately had me send a trusted messenger back to Inabu-hedj with an urgent message for the King that additional soldiers were needed. I dared not commit the message to papyrus for fear of it being waylaid along the route.

  Nomti announced another inspection for the next day, along a particularly difficult part of the canal. Rather than bypass a sizable rocky outcropping, the engineers decided to make use of a natural rock arch and to enlarge it. This would allow the canal to pass under the arch. The Horus priests felt this would be a good omen and serve as a spiritual passage into and out of the Two lands.

  The engineering for this section was challenging, but the engineers had persisted and the crews had carved the rock bit by bit. It had a long way still to go, but the supervisors felt it would buoy the workers to receive Nomti’s praise. And so, with his contingent of architects, engineers, supervisors, priests and soldiers we made our way to the site.

  After two hours on the backs of donkeys, we reached the workplace, a magnificent hill of blue rock that shimmered under Ra’s fierce rays. The closer we got, the higher it loomed and I could immediately see the wisdom in planning to go through, rather than around it.

  As we rounded a bend in the path, the natural bridge came into view and the supervisor called his men away so that we could get a clear view. Above us the red rock arch loomed and below it the workers had dug a huge chasm. They were lowering rock into the basin to serve as the liner for the canal as we approached.

  The supervisor suggested we view the canal from the bridge part of the arch. We climbed the rubble of rock and sand, at times having to scramble on all fours to avoid slipping. But never had I seen a sight such as this. Above us the blue walls of the hill towered and below us workers scrambled to excavate the sand, while others ferried stones to lay on the bottom. Huge logs were set in the sand along the banks of the canal to hold back the excavated sand. It was as if we witnessed an ant hill, so focused were the men on their task.

  One of the Horus priests who lived with the men to provide spiritual guidance began to descend a steep embankment into the canal. The supervisor called after him to come back, but the priest waved him off.

  “Seeing the bridge from the bottom of the canal is even more wondrous!” he yelled back. As I suspected, Nomti thought that a good idea and he and a few architects descended the rocky slope after the priest, slipping every few feet on the rubble. I waved to him when he reached the floor of the canal and looked upward. The arch towered above him and I shivered at his small size below me. Then it happened.

  At first we heard loud groans that soon gave way to piercing, high-pitched shrieks that sounded like a woman screaming in distress. Then there was a loud cracking sound and as I watched in horror the logs along the embankment that held the sand and stones gave way. Nomti stared, uncomprehending for an instant, then his face revealed his panic. Time stopped. All around me everyone appeared to move slowly. I could see the mouths of men open, their necks straining with their screams, their hands held up to block the coming wave, but no sound reached my ears.

  A monstrous avalanche of sand descended upon Nomti and his architects, along with rocks the size of a man. In the blink of Horus’ eye, they were swallowed up.

  SCROLL TWENTY-ONE

  If It Comes to War

  Merkha

  “It is horrible, what you have learned in the Delta,” Irisi said softly. She paced before me, wringing her hands. “I have heard from my priestesses there of the displeasure of their women, but that mostly concerned their unhappy husbands. Now I understand what has made them unhappy.” She paused to refill my water cup.

  “Have you met yet with Khenemet?”

  “I met with Buikkhu, which is the same thing. Khenemet journeys here from Nekhen as we speak. He will arrive tonight or on Ra’s rising.”

  “Did you have the honor of being followed by Khenemet’s spies?” Irisi surprisingly asked.

  “How would you know of such things?”

  “Do you think he does not spy on the workings of my temple? Like those sea monsters in The Great Green, his tentacles stretch far and wide. That is why I urge you to be careful, Merkha. He is an evil presence and very adept in what he does.”

  “You speak of my superior,” I said, looking as serious as I could, but she saw through it and laughed heartily.

  “Well, now that we have changed our moods, there is one more thing we must discuss,” Irisi continued. In the light of Ra’s silver disk her inner beauty was as radiant as her figure, which was artfully revealed in silhouette.

  “I have spoken at length during your absence with Woserit. I am happy to report that she and Nomti continue to strengthen their relationship and both are as happy as a pair of monkeys.”

  “Yes, that is wonderful, Irisi! I am certain your counseling Woserit has helped.”

  “Woserit has needed no such counseling from me, not since she was an initiate. She lives up to her name as a mighty woman. She reveals to me the steadfast man Nomti is. And he honors her as a woman and companion.” She took a long drink of water before continuing. “But, I am concerned that she has also cultivated a relationship with another man.”

  “What?” I gasped, standing up to better hear her next words. “How could you allow that…”

  “Relax, Merkha. It is not a romantic relationship of which I speak, but… it could perhaps be even more troubling. Woserit has formed a strong alliance with Urshte.” I felt as if the wind had been knocked out of me and I again retreated to my chair and breathed in to calm myself.

  “The two are from the Delta by birth. They share lofty ambitions, my brother, very lofty. They conspire to insert Nomti into the Royal Court ever more strongly.”

  It took me a while to absorb this, yet I now saw how their strong and focused bas might combine in troubling ways. “He is already a Minister, and that over Khenemet’s objections. This will surely cause conflict with Khenemet.”

  “It already has. While you were away Khenemet has done everything he could to thwart Nomti. The King seems oblivious, or… hmmm, or perhaps he plays them like Senet pieces. Who knows?

  “The King invited Nomti to the ceremonies at Nekhen, but Kheneme
t refused to give him a role, claiming his religious authority. But with the King naming Nomti Minister of Foreign Relations, Khenemet surely feels threatened.”

  Although I suspected some of the reasons, I wanted to be sure I had considered them all. “How?”

  “Khenemet is keenly aware of any challengers to his power. King Semerkhet threatened to consolidate power in the Royal Court and so he eliminated that threat. I think his greatest fear with Nomti is that he will succeed in reducing the priesthood’s share of contracts and bribes. Nomti would not tolerate such corruption in his projects. To his credit, Khenemet has seen into Nomti’s ba and has concluded that he cannot bend him to his will.”

  “Yet Urshte still keeps the accounts for the project. I am sure he hides Khenemet’s share well.”

  “That is likely true. He may play both sides in order to placate his Chief Priest. But I think that Khenemet did not count on Urshte’s own ambitious nature. It is like the wife who is brow-beaten by her husband and when he passes to the next world, she suddenly blossoms. So I suspect it is with Urshte.”

  I could not say to Irisi that some of the same information had already come to me by way of Mhotep. If nothing else it reinforced for me the advantages of having a network of spies that constantly fed information to better understand a situation.

  Two evenings later I was summoned to meet with Khenemet and Buikkhu in the Temple, where I was questioned over and over again about my findings. Finally, when he was satisfied with my report, Khenemet offered me a cup of beer. I noted that Khenemet and Buikkhu both appeared exhausted, doubtless from many late nights spent planning.

  “And what have you heard of these murders of the canal workers?” Buikkhu suddenly asked.

  “Of this I know nothing. I am not even sure what you refer to.”

  “You have not heard of what goes on with the canal project?”

  “No, as I said I know nothing of this,” I responded, looking from one to the other, hoping I looked innocent.

  “There have been a number of workers murdered,” Buikkhu explained, “and that has triggered work stoppages. Complaints from the workers mounts. One of the murderers was captured and questioned before he took his own life. He apparently understood nothing that was said to him. One of the guards thought he heard him mutter something in Akkadian.”

  “Akkadian?” I repeated, before stopping to think. “That can only mean…”

  “Yes, tell us what you think it means,” Buikkhu said, a smirk on his face.

  “That the Delta leaders have recruited the Assyrians in secret, to hide their involvement.”

  “Ah, you learn fast, Merkha,” Khenemet said. “That is exactly what we assume. We were hoping your spies had reported to you, but no matter. You’ve done well, Merkha. You have uncovered important information. We were remiss ourselves in not staying on top of this, what with Semerkhet’s passing and the transition to Qa’a.” I could only marvel at how Khenemet so easily dismissed his own failings, but not those of others. Or were they failings? The sudden thought that perhaps Khenemet was at the root of such discord hit me and I felt unbalanced as I tried to sort this revelation out.

  “There is yet another unfortunate happening that you may not know of, since you only returned. Nomti has been seriously injured while dealing with the rebellion among the workers.”

  “What? Is… will he live?” I felt the blood leave my face.

  “He is alive. Do not worry so. I know you two have become friends of late. Which, by the way, I urge you to be very careful of.” He paused here for the full effect of his warning to settle.

  “But he is being ministered by the best Horus physicians, who rushed from Nekhen to the site under my orders.” I wonder how true those words were. “He should be returning soon.”

  “But now on to another matter, Merkha. Tell us how you have done with your other mission, the secret one for the King.” I hesitated at Buikkhu’s smile.

  “Come now, fellow priest, you surely do not think we did not know about your spy efforts.” By now I had learned enough about the craft of deception to remain quiet. “Well?”

  “I am not certain I understand what you ask?” I responded to gain time to think. “I…”

  “Do not dare to treat me as a stupid donkey, dear priest, for you know full well who you deal with!” Khenemet shouted at me. “You are a novice at such things. We know everything that goes on within the Royal Court, for how else will Horus’ name be honored for eternity? How else will ma’at endure?

  “Now,” he continued, pacing away from me, “tell us what you found out for the King.” I noticed that Buikkhu and Khenemet exchanged a strained look and I suddenly realized that although they obviously knew of my attempts to recruit spies, they could not have known what was its purpose. I decided to test them.

  “Qa’a simply asked me to set up another way to obtain information for him. I have no experience with such things. He… he wanted to know how the canal project was received in the Delta. That is all. I have not seen him since my return, although he has summoned me to meet with him tomorrow.”

  “And what do you plan to tell him?”

  “I will tell him what I told you.”

  Khenemet paced toward Buikkhu and back again. “No, Merkha, you will tell him what we want you to tell him. Not a word more or less.” My chest tightened as if in a carpenter’s vise.

  As I walked to the meeting with Qa’a the next day, I reviewed in my mind what I had learned from my exchange with Khenemet and Buikkhu. Obviously they knew of my spy attempts through my ineptitude in recruiting. But I had grown in this area, too, and I would not easily repeat my mistakes. That they knew of my clumsy attempts might even benefit me, since they would assume that I had no talent for such intrigue. But the larger lesson I learned is that such information is highly selective. They knew of my spying, but not exactly what it was that I sought. With a small deception I could use that to my advantage if that became necessary.

  As they had planned, Buikkhu was already present at the meeting and as soon as I sat down Khenemet arrived, his leopard skin robe draped out behind him. “We are sorry to have taken from your time with Merkha,” Khenemet began, “but we felt it necessary to meet with you as soon as possible, for grave matters face your rule, my Master.”

  Qa’a looked to me, but I averted his gaze. “Well, then, go ahead.”

  Over the entire morning, Khenemet sketched out what he had learned from my reports and those of his other spies. Buikkhu added information as they had rehearsed, but I remained silent.

  “And now these murders of the canal workers, Master. They breed discontent. Their throats are slit as they sleep, in the manner of the Assyrian assassins. There have been work stoppages and even refusals to work. A whole contingent of workers from Nebyt left all together for home. And then there was the accident with Nomti.”

  The color drained from Qa’a’s face and he stood and walked to the railing. Inundation was about to end, yet Mother Nile still flowed swift and wide. Farmers had begun to reclaim their lands and the rekhi darted through the black mud taking whatever rotten fish they found stranded.

  “And what do you advise me to do?” he asked turning back to us.

  Khenemet took a deep breath and stood to his full height. He leaned on his staff, his leopard skins lending an air of authority. “Nothing else has occupied my thoughts over the past few months. As you know we even sent Merkha to the Delta to find out what was going on.”

  “I thought you sent him on a religious mission?” Qa’a asked, looking at me.

  “I wanted to keep things secret, so I…”