He found out about the riots from the guards on the city gates. The news of Habbakal's assassination had apparently spread all over the city that morning, along with a hundred rumours about the foreigners who had hacked him to pieces: so much for his hopes of making an ordered announcement, Dettekar thought. At midday Karkor had suddenly erupted, mobs rampaging all over the city in an orgy of lynching and looting. Nothing like this had been seen in the capital in living memory and most citizens had been terrified, sending deputations to the Enclave and to the military barracks desperately asking for help. It had been getting seriously out of hand as the gangs progressed from settling scores to simply enjoying the violence, when large numbers of soldiers had suddenly appeared and swept the streets clean. Several of the clashes had been fierce and bloody according to the gate guards, but things were definitely under control again. Princess Shkosta was generally being credited with calling out the mercenaries and the Special Forces to restore order.
There was more, the gate commander had offered, nervously eyeing the ranks of the Guards behind Dettekar. The princess had arrested the Generals on the Defence Council for their 'cowardly inaction' and had closed the city temporarily to all regular army troops. The city was quiet, 'stunned', the captain said, but solidly behind their new saviour.
The General had no intention of putting his head into a noose. The whole 'spontaneous' affair spoke to him of meticulous planning and until he knew who was pulling the strings, he would stay safe inside the protection of his own men. So he had simply turned around and joined his main force at their camp to the north of the city. A few detachments of the Imperial Guard were still in the Enclave or in barracks in the city, but the bulk of them were here, a sword at Karkor's throat if he chose to use them that way.
He didn't. He was a soldier, first and last, wishing only to be left alone to do what he was good at. Unfortunately he was the essential ally for anyone seeking power in the capital and there were plenty of those.
Several secret messages came in from the Generals on the Defence Council, urging him to seize the city and restore the authority of the Council: no selfish motives, of course, just concern for the public good. Then a visit from Shuvar within hours of his arrival in camp: as a member of the Six Families Dettekar owed it to them all to see that Habbakal's wishes were carried out and that free elections were held to appoint the next Emperor, chosen from the Families naturally: election could be free, but not selection, that would be ridiculous.
And now a note on this fine spring morning from the princess, proposing a meeting: she would come to any place of his choosing. He interpreted this as confidence rather than weakness and his view on whose hand had controlled the crisis was confirmed. Dettekar himself was not devious enough to come to Theyn's conclusions about the extent of Shkosta's involvement, but he was having to revise his judgement of this young woman every day.
And so, as he waited for her to arrive at the lonely farmhouse he had chosen as the meeting place, he turned the question round and round. Did he want to get involved or didn't he?
Chapter 30
The people cried aloud to Ajeddak in their woe. “Our people are slain, our fields are laid waste, and the shadow of the invader lies heavy upon the land. Like locusts they will make a desert of our country. Why hast thou visited this burden upon us?”
Ajeddak answered them saying, “This travail have ye brought upon yourselves. My temples are empty, My altars are bare, and your ears are deaf to the voice of My priests.”
And the affliction of the invaders grew heavier and the people cried out more loudly, so that at the last the heart of Ajeddak was moved and He took pity on them.
He took a fragment from the lost Talismans of the Gods and fashioning it in the likeness of a great stone, He set it in the centre of the Kingdom in the city of Karkor. And the invaders could not prevail against the might of the Stone. From that day their power waned.
And when they fled headlong from the Kingdom into the waste lands beyond, by the magic of the Stone the barren place whereon they stood was raised far above the earth and girt about with mighty cliffs, so that there was no way for them to descend and assail the people of Ajeddak.
And Ajeddak vowed to His people for as long as they should hearken to His voice, He would hold the armies of the evil ones imprisoned in the waste land which He had raised into the sky. And so it remains unto this day.
from The Third Ode to Ajeddak
Pattaka Mountains
It took them three thirsty days to emerge from the dry Deddi Gorge into a wide upland valley cradling a swift stream. It was coming dark on the fourth day when Sarai lookouts directed them up a small wooded side valley to a concealed camp. The rebels had only scraps remaining of the food which they had carried with them on the raid. It was a hungry night for most of them and not without its alarms.
Around midnight a band of Sarai came in, led by Piddur, who cheerfully assured Sammar that the Imperial army would be needing a lot of new recruits. The rock avalanches had decimated the crowded troops in the gorge and cut them up into small demoralized units which the Sarai had dealt with piecemeal. Piddur did not bother to explain, but Sammar got the impression that their allies had the same attitude to taking prisoners as General Abbar. A hundred of the Sarai had remained behind to discourage pursuit. Their contempt for the Imperial army implied that this number would be quite sufficient to hold off the entire Karkor garrison.
Piddur also congratulated the Mederro for taking the time to kill the Emperor during their escape. He had picked up the story from one of the army wounded, in fact the man said the assassination was the reason for the massive pursuit, and Piddur was most disappointed to learn that the escapees were not responsible.
Rasscu's wounds were troubling him and when another band arrived shortly before dawn, he gave up any hope of sleep and joined the group clustered round the early morning camp fire. He found Berin and Idressin already there, listening to Piddur's explanations.
"That Sholomik." The Sarab shook his head, laughing. "Who else would have thought of it, to use the renkai? The Sarai Council forbade us all to come on this raid: the penalty was to be excluded from our bhereths. But the renkai are exiles, many of them by choice; they have no bhereths, they are outside the bhereth laws, yet they number some of the fiercest fighters on the Harb. Sholomik sent eight of us to pass the word among them, the raid of all raids into the heart of Belugor and the chance to save the honour of the Sarai. It spread like fire. They came in their hundreds, they came and wah jahallan they were victorious. Every day of their lives they will remember that they saved the Zeddayah and the amulet of Barrada and they will be honoured for it among our people. The other matter," he glanced across at Idressin, "I have not yet told them."
"The time for that will come," the tutor replied evenly.
Piddur glanced at Caldar's motionless figure. "I see the Zeddayah still sleeps. It is well with him?" This was addressed to Berin whom the Sarai had come to regard as Caldar's brother. It described their relationship well enough, so neither of them bothered to deny it.
"He's alright," Berin answered. "He's just very tired. I think the struggle with Kulkin in the catacombs exhausted him."
"More than Kulkin," Sammar put in. "There was something very evil in there. It would have killed us all had Caldar not summoned Barrada." The rebel was uncomfortable speaking of anything inexplicable or magical, but he acknowledged his debt and continued firmly, "I saw it all for myself. And with the wounded," Sammar shook his head, " those he touched still bear their wounds, but their pain is lifted."
Piddur burst into a torrent of explanation to his countrymen who grew round-eyed with wonder. The talk flew excitedly to and fro in Sarai for several minutes, until Berin pointed out that his brother would not get a chance to recover from his labours if they woke him up chattering like magpies. Rasscu watched in surprise as the fierce-eyed warriors politely got up and moved away, remaining within sight of Caldar.
"That w
as brave, Berin," he commented. "People can get killed for insulting Sarai like that."
"Not the Zeddayah's brother," Berin replied drily. "You know I think Caldar's going to have some difficulty getting away from these people. They'll want to put him in a cage so they can look at him."
Rasscu smiled. "From what I’ve heard, he’s been a natural escaper all his life.”
At dawn a hush descended on the camp as all the Sarai, sitting or standing, went still and silent in what Piddur later explained to be the morning prayer. After a few minutes bustle returned and soon they were off, moving deeper into the mountains. The remains of the spring snow still covered the summits above them and even in the bright sunshine it was distinctly cooler than in Karkor. Crocuses and bright blue flowers which the youths remembered seeing up at Far End studded the meadows and the streams ran full and fast with the snow-melt.
At midday they overtook a large herd of cattle, which had apparently been 'removed from the army supply line'. They would be driven across the mountains and left to pasture with friendly herdsmen on the grasslands below the plateau. The rebels were very hungry now and looked appraisingly at each fat beast they passed; but they knew better than to lay hands on Sarai property and contented themselves with the bowls of milk which the herders handed out generously.
Caldar had awoken still tired in the morning. He would have resumed his place with the stretchers had not Sammar and Berin prevented him. So reluctantly he joined the rear of the slow exodus up into the mountains with Berin and Tariska solicitously at his side. Hard as he tried to disguise his weakness, he found himself having to rest frequently as they climbed higher, and it was with relief that he topped a narrow col in the early evening to look down on the sparsely wooded coombe below, where cooking fires ringed a small lake.
To his embarrassment Remakkib and virtually every Sarab in the camp came out to meet him as he tottered down onto the level grass. There was some sort of ritual greeting in Sarai, then Remakkib clasped both his hands.
"Welcome to our camp, Caldar. It has been a long and dangerous road for you and your companions since last we met. We would wish to hear more of your exploits, but your need for rest is clear and your friends shall be our guests and our story-tellers this evening. Sholomik has come. He and A'Delzir have that tent by the lakeside there and we have prepared the next one for you and your companions. Enough talk, you sway like a bough in the wind. Come. I will wake you later to eat if you wish."
Caldar nodded, too numb to make conversation and followed his host slowly to the tent. By the time he had stretched out on the rug floor he was asleep. Remakkib watched Tariska gently spread blankets over him and gave a short laugh.
"I will not concern myself about taking care of him." He smiled at the girl, who looked back at him coolly: he could interpret her attentiveness however he pleased. "I will see that you are told when it is time to eat and you can wake him. He will prefer that."
Outside the tent Berin and Rasscu were borne off by the friendly Sarai and plied with amalra tea before the talk began. The amalra came from the army supply wagons looted along with the cattle and tasted better than usual for being the spoils of war, although the Sarai made their own tea, much superior they said, from a plant with bitter leaves which grew on the plateau.
In fact Caldar did not appear for supper. As soon as Tariska woke him, he fell asleep again. Even when she brought a portion of food to the tent, he only managed one bite before dropping off. Idressin looked in later and found the girl sleeping where she sat at Caldar's side. He nudged her gently awake.
"You don't have to guard him, Tikka. We really are safe here. More so than we've been for a long time."
"It's not other people, it's what he does to himself. I've watched him drive himself to the limit since the catacombs and I didn't realise how close he was to collapsing. He can’t even stay awake long enough to eat. Will he be alright?"
"Well," the tutor said consideringly, "if he doesn't eat for another six days, you'd better tell me." He smiled at the flash of anger in the girl's eyes. "Don't take things so seriously, Tikka. Caldar does enough of that for both of you. We've just escaped against all the odds and we have what we came for. It's time to relax and laugh. You could waste your whole life worrying about things just because you think you ought to worry about them." He ducked out of the tent flap, calling back as he did so, "The lad's fine. He'll be his normal pestering self by morning."
The girl sat stubbornly in the tent for a while longer, then smiled wryly to herself in the darkness and went out to join the others by the fires.
A huge crowd of Sarai were listening to Rasscu tell his story, while Sammar held forth to a gathering of Mederros a little further round the tarn. The Sarai, apart from Piddur who was sitting out in front translating, had missed it all and were hungry for the story. The black-robed warriors readily made way for Tariska and propelled her gently to the front next to Remakkib. Rasscu was just telling of the fight in the catacombs, of which she had had only the sketchiest accounts so far, and she was fascinated.
When it came to his duel with Behenna, nothing would satisfy the Sarai except the Tesserit showing them his wounds. When he said, with truth, that they had been much worse until the hands of the Zeddayah were laid on them, the audience gasped and buzzed with wonder and approval. The girl was spellbound as the tale progressed and the audience was as silent and motionless as the stars overhead until Rasscu told of the blue flame that heralded the arrival of Barda Repo.
The name 'Barrada' ran from mouth to mouth and Remakkib explained to the girl that Barrada was a legendary name among them. He had been, so the story went, the most recent of the Rahidor Perehm, the legendary Warriors of the Talisman. He had come from the mountains far beyond the rising sun, taken the Talisman of Obedience from its resting place, and held it and its power in trust against the coming of Ammal Dahin, the Time of Peace, the mythical future when the whole world would rest in God’s blessing. He had lived long, but in the end had died with his great mission unfulfilled, his final resting place unknown. Some legends had it that he still roamed the earth and would do so until his successor appeared.
"If the spirit of Barrada intervened on Rasscu's behalf, it is a sign to us that these are blessed times indeed," Remakkib concluded.
Rasscu resumed his tale with the burning of Behenna to the evident satisfaction of the audience. When the blue light united with the amulet, there was a great sigh as of fulfilment and a swelling murmur from all sides. Some voices began to chant and only the fact that the story was clearly unfinished restrained the Sarai from leaping up in a frenzy of exultation. Things that were merely legends to their forefathers were coming to life in their own times. The transformation of the sword was too much for them. They held back no longer, and a deep, almost frightening, chant began to make the air throb as they called to be shown the sword, reforged by the spirit of Barrada.
The Tesserit's reluctance was clear, but the Sarai seemed to be almost beyond control. Tariska was never sure afterwards what would have happened next had the Tinker not appeared at the front beside Rasscu. Such was the power of his presence at that moment that the chant began to falter and slowly died away to complete silence.
"Hear the words of Barrada." The old man spoke in Sarai, not raising his voice, yet every man there heard the words in his very ear. "This sword shall not be drawn save in the service of the Talisman."
He paused and looked at the throng for a long time. "Are you children? Do you want to see a show? Or do you believe that it is our purpose to entertain you? Perhaps to provide you with stories that you can tell around the fire?" Another silence.
"Do the Sarai wish to remain cattle-thieves and brigands preying on defenceless caravans?" A definite reaction this time, an angry murmur. "Is it all your ambition to run back to your stony plateau and brag about your latest raid?" The murmur swelled to shouts of outrage, which died away as the Tinker stared them down. "Are you content to be the tellers of legends for anoth
er hundred generations? Or do you wish to be the makers of legends, to live them, now, today?" The audience was once again enveloped in a vibrant silence.
He pointed to Rasscu's scabbard. "This sword was forged anew by one Rahidor for his successor. No other may draw it or it will burn and consume him." The Sarai sat frozen, as at the brink of some great revelation.
"The Talisman of Obedience has returned, a wonder that has not been beheld by the eyes of men since ancient times. And it has found its Guardian. Are you blind that you cannot see what is before your very eyes? Barrada himself has confirmed his successor and he stands here before you now, the Rahidor of this age. And what will you do? Shout to see his pretty sword? Or will the Sarai once again be the first to lift his standard, be prepared to suffer, fight and die if need be, so that the blessing of the Talisman may spread far and wide and prepare the way for the coming of Ammal Dahin? The world moves swiftly towards the struggle which will decide the future of mankind. The same great question is asked of us all, what will we pay to win the freedom God intended for us? As you repeat every day in your evening prayer, ‘now is the hour of choice’. Come, choose swiftly. Will you be the talkers or the doers?"
"The doers," came back a great shout from a thousand throats.
"Will you fight with the Rahidor Perehm?"
"We will fight," the one great voice responded.
"Then understand that from this day your lives are given to the Rahidor, just as his is dedicated to the Talisman. May it guide us all in the dark years and in the battles to come, until we can bring to fulfilment the hopes of all mankind." The Tinker concluded with the ritual Sarai words spoken between those going into battle. "In life in death let the peace of God surround you."
The Tears of Sisme Page 78
