Empire Rising (13 page)

Korthac could scarcely believe his luck. The foolish ruler had divided his forces and left the city in the care of his pregnant slave girl.

If Ariamus could raise men fast enough, Korthac would have more than enough followers to take control of Akkad. It might take only weeks instead of the months he had envisioned. While the fool Eskkar chased bandits all over the countryside, weakening his forces in the process, Korthac would husband and increase his own numbers.

Korthac reached his lodgings and passed inside. He nodded pleasantly to the innkeeper and sat down at a table. Except for the owner and his family, only Korthac and his men now stayed here. The other guests had been encouraged to seek accommodations elsewhere by the innkeeper, after a large gift from Korthac. The tiny inn normally couldn’t accommodate so many travelers, but his men could bear such a minor hardship as sleeping shoulder to shoulder on the dirt floor; after the brutal weeks journeying across the desert, the inn’s floor seemed almost luxurious.

Even though Korthac had selected these men with care, they still had difficulty acting as simple bodyguards instead of trained warriors. He only allowed them to carry knives, befitting their role, and kept their newly acquired swords in his room. He’d promised to kill the first man that quarreled with any of the local inhabitants. So far, they’d shown restraint, knowing their days of plunder and pillage would come soon enough.

The innkeeper rushed to his table, carrying a jar of wine and cups while his obsequious wife appeared with a bowl of dates and a chipped plate holding fresh bread. Korthac thanked them both with a smile, ignoring their filthy hands and the dirty utensils. The innkeeper no doubt imagined he would make a tidy profit from his foreign guest. The thought of someday taking it all back from the man helped Korthac’s appetite. The barely adequate wine smelled of vinegar, but he drank it gratefully while he picked at the already-stale bread.

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Today’s meeting with Trella had gone better than he’d dreamed possible. Perhaps the fool Lord of Akkad would get himself killed and solve another problem. This Eskkar didn’t even have an heir, though Korthac doubted many would rally to a son of an upstart barbarian. Korthac knew it took years of trust, years of obedience to a ruler before the people accepted without question the passing of authority from father to son.

Gatus, the temporary leader of the city, looked and acted like a plain soldier, one with little imagination. And Corio was nothing more than an artisan, only recently allowed into the company of what these locals called the Nobles. No, these simple villagers hadn’t rallied around Eskkar out of choice, but out of necessity.

Eskkar had left the city, taking nearly a quarter of its soldiers. Another sixty or so had gone south, so that left little more than a hundred men here in Akkad, not even enough to defend the walls properly, not without the villagers supporting them. If the soldiers here could be eliminated, the other two forces, even if they got together, would be too weak to retake the city, especially after Korthac convinced the villagers to fi ght for him. There would be more than a few disaffected locals eager to gain a better place and position. Taking a sip of wine, he grimaced at the taste.

He knew how to win over the rest of the villagers. Hacking a few to death in the marketplace would solve that problem.

That left only Trella to be reckoned with. She would be curious, possibly even suspicious, but a stranger with a dozen men wouldn’t worry her or any of the others. Perhaps he could even win her over, keep her occupied and amused with stories of Egypt while Ariamus gathered more men. A few jewels might even do the trick.

Ariamus hadn’t found out much about Trella, but the innkeeper had plenty of stories to tell. She seemed to have her wits about her, but she was merely a pregnant girl, too young to have any real understanding in how to deal with men or rule a city. More important, she lacked experience in warfare, especially the kind of fighting Korthac had waged in Egypt. No, she and this Eskkar had attained their positions by the luck of a barbarian invasion, and in the confusion they had gained control of the biggest city on the Tigris. Korthac needed to deal carefully with her, but he would make sure she learned only what he wanted her to know. Until it was too late. Then she, too, would kneel at his feet.

He tasted a few of the dates and wished again for the fruit of the trees from the village of his youth. Somehow the food in this new place didn’t 62

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seem quite as satisfying as that of Egypt. He assumed he would get used to it, however, especially when served to him on a golden platter by his new slaves. Taking another mouthful of wine to rinse his mouth, he thought more about Trella. She had little beauty, especially with her body already distorted by the coming child.

She did have a presence, a sense of command, one Korthac would enjoy breaking. He had seen how the others deferred to her, though that might be simple fear of the barbarian Eskkar. Perhaps she would make a good pleasure slave. She’d been a slave once, so it only seemed fitting to return her to her true station. He pictured her kneeling naked at his feet, begging for the chance to please him. Yes, that was something pleasant to anticipate. Almost as pleasant as the prospect of the entire city submitting to his authority, eager to satisfy his every command.

In the morning he would meet with the council, plead his case, and begin negotiations over whatever trifling taxes they demanded. Tomorrow would be the first day of his new campaign. It wouldn’t be a long campaign, but when it ended, he would rule fi rst here, then over all the surrounding countryside. Eskkar would be dead, and his woman would be Korthac’s slave, for as long as she pleased him. Or she, too, would be dead.

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T hough Trella lived only a few lanes away from the Council House, the journey home always took much longer than expected. Shopkeepers and villagers filled the streets, and the sight of Trella and her guards made it impossible for her to go about unnoticed. Everyone wanted to exchange a few words with her, or even just call out a greeting.

She and Annok-sur took their time, pausing often to chat with those she encountered. Only a few months ago, Trella had walked the entire city almost every day. But now, between her pregnancy and her new role as Eskkar’s representative, she had less time to wander about and meet the inhabitants. Nevertheless, Trella wanted to stay close to Akkad’s people, and so she took advantage of every opportunity to speak with them.

This late in the afternoon, women, their daily chores completed, made up most of the crowd. More than an hour remained before they started preparing their family’s evening repast. Few could resist the opportunity to speak with Lady Trella, the wife of Akkad’s ruler. Young mothers showed off their new babies, matrons pointed out their marriageable daughters, and older women or young widows presented themselves. Many of these sought Lady Trella’s help in finding a husband, a duty she had assumed during the siege, as the casualties mounted among both villagers and soldiers.

The war against the barbarians had improved the status of those serving as Akkad’s soldiers, and Eskkar increased their pay enough so the more senior men could afford wives. As with every task Trella undertook, no matter how minor, she gave it her full attention. At her urging, Eskkar 64

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summoned the more experienced soldiers, and Trella met with each of them, taking the time needed to learn what kind of husband each would be, and which woman would best suit him.

She soon had a good number of marriages to her credit. Because she’d helped arrange the unions, the husbands treated their newly acquired women properly, and the brides attended to their duties. Neither wanted the Lord of Akkad or his wife to hear of matrimonial difficulties. Even newcomers to Akkad soon learned to take advantage of Lady Trella’s knowledge and services, not only as a marriage broker, but also as an honest advisor for almost any situation.

By the time Annok-sur and Trella reached Eskkar’s compound, she’d promised to find husbands for two more women. Two soldiers guarded the entrance, and one held the gate open for the mistress of the house. They passed into the courtyard, where the scent of jasmine hung in the air, and tulips in pots scattered along the inner walls offered some color to offset the drab mud-brick walls.

When Eskkar became captain of the guard, he had taken over this large, two-story house with its private garden and separate quarters for servants. The structure, at that time the largest in Akkad, had belonged to a wealthy merchant who valued his privacy as much as his security. Eskkar’s domicile stood to the left, its second story rising up at the rear. The servants’ quarters, as long as the main building, faced it across the sizable open space, and these dwellings formed two sides of the central courtyard.

Man-high walls enclosed the rest.

During the siege, more than forty men had crammed themselves into the servants’ quarters, though at present it housed only twenty guards, most of them Hawk Clan. Klexor, one of Eskkar’s subcommanders, lived there along with his wife and children. Another room remained reserved for guests or travelers.

A large plank table with half a dozen benches capable of seating thirty rested midway between the two houses. In the hottest days of summer master, servants, and guards took their meals there. A few Hawk Clan soldiers could usually be found relaxing around the table, especially in the evening.

These warriors provided constant security for the house and its occupants. Day and night, two men guarded the front gate, while another watched the small garden at the rear of the main structure, with its single, high-set window that opened into Eskkar and Trella’s second-story Empire Rising

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bedroom. In the evening, two guards took station inside the main house, guarding the steps that led up to Eskkar and Trella’s rooms.

Annok-sur and her husband Bantor lived there as well. When Eskkar became captain of the guard, Bantor and his wife had been too poor to find decent lodgings. Eskkar, with plenty of space in his new dwelling, had offered the neediest of his subcommanders one of the extra rooms in the big house.

The size of the household grew quickly, as soldiers and servants filled the rooms of both structures. Needing help, Trella asked Annok-sur for her assistance, and soon realized Bantor’s wife could run the combined household efficiently and by herself. Once the two women had established the domicile, Annok-sur took over the day-to-day tasks, supervising the buying and cooking of food, cleaning the house, and washing their men’s clothes in the river. Soon Annok-sur directed half a dozen servants and soldiers’ wives inside the big household. With the household duties attended to, Trella helped Eskkar with organizing the village’s defense, always her main task.

Weeks went by as Trella helped arrange the logistics needed to arm and supply the villagers and soldiers. Once Eskkar had that effort in hand, Trella concentrated on helping to train the villagers and get them ready for the coming siege. During the months of preparation she secretly kept to her real goal, the effort to win over the hearts and minds of the common people.

She started with the women, eager to speak with anyone who treated them with the least bit of consideration. Trella soon earned the respect of their menfolk and even the hardened soldiers, who treated her more like a sister than Eskkar’s wife. In the process, and by careful use of Eskkar’s newly acquired gold, Trella gradually built up a small network of spies and informers, mostly women and slaves, who kept her aware of anyone plotting against Eskkar and his new role.

Throughout the city, throughout the land, men talked freely in front of their women, whether slave or free, often treating them as furniture, something of no importance. But many women had sharper wits than their menfolk, though most had learned to keep such heresy to themselves. These women soon learned they could earn a copper coin or two by reporting anything of interest to Trella, who not only paid for the information, but actively sought the help of those who delivered it, asking their opinions and advice. She’d been raised by her father, an advisor to a 66

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ruling noble in a large village far to the south, and he’d taught her to use her sharp wits. Her days as a slave, beginning with her father’s death and ending with Eskkar’s ascent to power, had sharpened them even further.

The information Trella’s spies collected helped Eskkar survive the efforts of the nobles to replace him when the siege ended.

The siege had broken barely two months ago. That day, Eskkar and Trella stood atop the blood-stained wall, victorious over both the nobles and the barbarians. The people, delirious with joy at their salvation from death or slavery, acclaimed Eskkar their lord and ruler. At the same time, they hailed Trella as well, wanting her wisdom and guidance. They understood and respected the soldier who had saved their lives and property, but in the end, they trusted Trella to look after their well-being as much as Eskkar.

Even the nobles had finally seen the advantages of a strong ruler, though they would never have selected the blunt-speaking, barbarian Eskkar. For them, Trella smoothed the way, her intelligence and honesty giving them assurance that their own enterprises would be protected and allowed to grow. With food again on their tables, the people of Akkad relished the return of prosperity. If the bandits and thieves wandering the countryside could be driven off and the crops replanted, security and wealth would soon surpass their earlier levels.

Meanwhile, the rebuilding and expansion of Akkad continued, a gi-gantic task, but one Trella felt capable of accomplishing. Not a trader, merchant, or farm holder, she had no private interests to advance. The nobles and leading merchants saw everything in terms of their own wealth, did everything to increase their gold, their power, and their prestige at each other’s expense.