Date: Thu, 18 Oct 2012 17:15:33 +1300
From: Arthur <artcart65@vodafone.co.nz>
Subject: the thread chapter 7

				THE THREAD


				 CHAPTER 7


				 BY ARTHUR



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As the first heat of a new morning filled our room, I felt a soft touch on
my shoulder, opening sleepy eyes, I made out what I thought was the face of
Shemba as he leaned over me, it took a few seconds for my eyes to adjust to
the morning light before I realised it was Simba and that our day of escape
had arrived.

I looked around the room and saw that the rest of the boys had arisen
already and were eating from some fruit bowls, Shemba hid his eyes as he
tried to intimate that he would like to be like his brother, his hand
gently rubbing his scrotum with a look of hope in his young eyes, I could
only smile and nod my head as I cleared the last of the sleep from my head.

Once I was fully awake, I asked for two boys to help me with Simba and his
problem, I then indicated to the boy to remove his sparse clothing and lay
on the floor. As with his brother, I performed the same ritual and, after
only a short time, Simba voiced the first words he had said in years,
although his young voice was a little scratchy and his small hand never
left the newly rounded lumps in his groin, his eyes were bright and shiny
as he showed his full set of whiter than white teeth.

As the resulting tiredness hit me, Simba's voice strengthened and he began
to relay the message from Shemba, I lay back on the pillows and allowed the
surrounding strength of the stone and the air to replenish my own magical
power as Simba related what we would have to do.

Shemba had decided the best time for us to move would be at the height of
the sun, it was at this time that the Vizier would be sleeping during the
hottest part of the day as would many of the soldiers and most of the towns
citizens, we would have to remove our footwear as we could not afford to
make a single sound when the time came, the guards outside our door would
still be alert, we could only take what we could carry but that was no
problem as that was all we had.

For the next hour, Gregor gave soft spoken commands to the boys, each and
every one of them quietly packed his equipment and prepared themselves for
the escape, Gregor, with the help of Peitro, had emptied one of the free
standing fire braziers that were lit during the night to keep the desert
chill out of the room, once it was empty, Gregor placed the one end against
the wooden door and braced the other end tightly against a nearby pillar,
this effectively locked the door from the inside and it would take a long
time to break through, they would have to virtually cut the door away.

For the rest of the morning we lay about resting, Simba had still not told
me how he was going to get us out of the room, it was high up from the
ground so it would dangerous to just jump from one of the many windows, we
would also be quickly seen by the outside guards, there was only the single
door and that was now barred, Simba would say nothing but only smile his
radiant smile when asked how it was to be done and place a finger over his
lips in the gesture for silence.

Soon, the oppressive heat of the midday sun was pounding down on the city,
the air was hot and dry and we could hear the lessening of the noises of
the city below us as the full might of the southern sun sent everyone
inside to keep cool and while away the midday hours in the shade of their
homes, it was the time for rest, all except the slaves rested, slaves were
viewed as half animal and so they were worked non stop, even through the
torrid heat of the desert sun.

Our time had come, Simba rose silently to his feet and tightened the thin
white cloth he wore around his waist, it was not much for a boy too wear
being only a single short length of light fabric, around his waist was a
thin belt of the same cloth, the smaller piece barely covered his newly
returned eggs and then went down under his scrotum and was tightly twisted
to go between his rounded buttocks and tie off on the belt at the rear, I
could only stare at the firmness of those two round orbs as he turned his
back on me and went towards the far wall, I shuddered in desire as he
moved.

A touch on my arm brought me back to what we were about to do, Gregor was
standing beside me with Peitro beside him, both were on full alert as they
watched the Mandingo boy reach for the top of a very large side board, it
was more than the height of a grown man and as wide as you could stretch
your arms, the front was carved in intricate designs and I estimated it
would take at least six or eight boys to move it from its place, I was
quickly proved wrong.

Simba stood quietly beside the tall piece of furniture with his ear pressed
tightly against it as the rest of us waited in silence, after a short time
there came a soft tapping signal of three, two and three again, it sounded
as though it came from the very walls themselves, a wide smile broke out on
Simba's lips as he reached up high and took hold of one of the carvings at
the very top of the sideboard, with a light tug he pulled downward, there
was a distinctive `click' and he effortlessly swung the large piece of
furniture away from the wall to reveal the dark figure of Shemba standing
in the dark portal with a lit torch in his hand.

Shemba placed the torch in a nearby sconce and hugged his brother as though
they had not seen each other in an age, Shemba then, and without shame,
rested his hand on the bulge in Simba's skimpy cloth, the resulting smile
lit up the room as he turned and silently thanked me for the return of his
brothers boyhood, from that moment on it was a hive of silent activity.

Shemba signalled for the boys too follow him as he took up the torch once
more and led the way into the hidden passage, Simba was the last one
through the doorway and turned once the piece of furniture had been pulled
back into place, he then put a small piece of metal in a hole at the lock
and tapped it until it was tightly in place, no one would be able to follow
us this way unless they came up this hidden passage from the outside.

Silently we followed the torch of Shemba, the passage stayed flat and
straight for a short distance until we came to a long set of rough stone
steps that disappeared into the darkness before us, with little pause,
Shemba led us downward, all the time making sure there were no sounds from
us or our equipment.

I had no idea how far down we went but it did feel as though we were well
under the ground as the air around us was cooler and slightly damp, at the
bottom of the steps we again set off on a level path, we had been moving
for some time and we had no idea where we were or what was to happen once
we came out of the tunnel.

Finally we came to a large wooden door, Shemba placed his finger to his
lips for silence and then slowly pushed the door open only a fraction, with
one eye peering through, he gave a sigh and pushed the door fully open, the
sudden rush of brighter light made my eyes water but they quickly adjusted
as we were now in a rough barn like room and, we were not alone, Gregor
hissed and the boys took up their guard positions as the tall dark figures
in the room looked down at us.

Every figure was tall and dark, their faces were covered with a dark blue
cloth and only their dark eyes showed from the narrow slit between the face
cloth and the strange wound cloth on their heads, their bodies were also
covered with the blue cloth and, on their feet were long soft leather
boots, not the usual sandals that others wore in this desert land.

I could just barely make out a strange tattoo on their foreheads and their
dark piercing eyes seemed to look through each and every one of us, it was
Shemba that saved my boys from attacking the strangers, as fearsome as they
were, the men had an almost jocular stance as they looked us over, Shemba
began to explain for us.

"Put your weapons away, these are friends, they are the Bedou, they have no
love for the Vizier or his Pharaoh, they are desert people and know
everything there is to know about crossing the great Negev, they will take
us away from this place, come, follow me, their animals are waiting and
they want to leave before there is any alarm, once in the desert we will
never be found by any army."

Shemba then turned and, in a language I could make no sense of, bowed low
to one of the Bedou and we all turned and followed the tall man in his blue
clothes to the waiting caravan outside, the sight that met my eyes left me
speechless, firstly, not only were there many, many horses with mounted and
armed men on them, but there were also hundreds of long legged, boxlike
animals with the strangest growth on their backs that looked like a large
lump had grown there.

On each of these animals, which I was to learn later were called
Dromedaries or camels, were mounted rough looking canopies, come held
shadowy figures and others held goods, other Bedou were also mounted on
these strange camels and held arms at the ready, no sooner were we urged
into some of the empty canopies than a loud order was given, with much
urging from the men and spitting and growling from the camels, the long
line began its march out into the desert.

Each canopy held two boys, who the vague shadows were in the other canopies
I was not to discover until late in the night when we stopped for the
evening meal, we did not camp but pushed on through the dark, the Bedou
guiding us by the stars and the brightness of the full moon, it was not
until the middle of the next morning, when the heat of the sun became
hotter towards the middle of the day that we stopped to rest.

It was at this first stop that I saw how well the Bedou knew their life,
within no time at all, they had their large dark tents raised and the smell
of cooking food filled the air, all of the young boys of the caravan were
suddenly very active as they set about unloading the camels and setting out
rough food for them as well as pouring water from goat skins into portable
drinking baskets made from the same leather.

The large heard of goats were placed under the guard of the youngest boys
as the men set about relaxing after their meal, soon there were only those
young men who had been set as guards, left awake, the rest of the caravan
were now resting peacefully as we were, Shemba had explained to me about
the acceptance of hospitality as it pertained to the Bedou, it was under
this Bedou law that we now travelled.

The Bedou were a desert people and had strict rules of conduct, boys could
be boys as long as they attended to their work, women were hidden from the
sight of another man once they married and only seen when they were fully
clothed from head to foot, usually in a long black cloak, all you could see
were the two dark eyes peering out of their hoods, the unmarried girls were
kept well apart from any men and protected by some very fiery, older
married women, the men were always on the look out for any trouble, either
within or from outside, these were not only nomads but warriors and were
not to be trifled with, their rules and laws were set in stone and none
broke them as a very painful death would follow swiftly.

Shemba had asked for the law of hospitality until we crossed the Negev and
were safe from the long arm of the Pharaoh, for a promised gift of gold at
the end of the journey and, under the laws of hospitality, the Bedou had
accepted us, it turned out to be beneficial for both of us, at this stage I
had kept my cloak up over my head and my face behind my spell of darkness,
I had heard from the Viziers house about Shaitan and how the people had a
great fear of him, with my pointed ears, I did not want to be mistaken for
one of their greatest fears.

The journey continued for weeks, mostly in the same vein as we had started,
the day would begin in the late hours of the afternoon and continue through
the night until mid morning, the caravan would then stop for the hottest
part of the day and we would all rest until it was time to start again,
every four to five days we would stop at a special place, to the
inexperienced eye there was nothing but sand and stones too see but, with a
little work by the young men of the caravan, stones and sand would be swept
aside and the covered top of a fresh water well would be revealed, the
animals would be watered and fed once again before continuing on our way.

As the journey continued, the boys began to join in with the work, their
strange language became familiar and we began to understand them, while
they were not an overly talkative people, when we stopped for the day, they
would laugh and joke about the days travel and anything funny that had
happened, such as a young warrior falling asleep and falling off his horse
or camel, while this could be dangerous in the middle of the night, it was
considered to be a laughable joke on the young man.

The Bedou also had long stories of ancient times that filled the children
with awe and sometimes fear, the Bedou were great story tellers, the tales
coming alive in their descriptive language, these were usually told by the
older men of the large tribe and they could put fear, joy or mystery into
their voices as they related the tale, it was during one of these tales
that things changed for us.

It had started as a tale about what they called the Djini, they were a
being that held magic and they could do good or evil, depending on how you
treated them and how you asked or answered their tricky questions, if you
could answer their puzzles, the Bedou also loved puzzle questions, then the
Djini would bestow great prizes on you, if you could not answer, they would
cause you great hardship, playing the game of puzzles with the Djini was
not to be taken lightly, according to the old man who was telling the
story.

The children and young men that sat around the old man waited with baited
breath as he continued his tale as did we all, he was the best of the story
tellers but rarely spoke of them, he left most of the stories to the
younger men, but his were always the best, as he told this story he kept
looking over at me as though he could see past my glamour, it gave me an
eerie feeling, his eyes were old but sharp, his years were indeterminate
but his life's blood pumped strongly within his chest.

The story continued, sometimes making the youngest shiver in fear and other
times making the circle of listeners laugh loudly as they ate the dates and
meat that had been set before us by the shrouded women, the large communal
tent was filled with most of the men and youngsters, only those out on
guard were not there as he told of the trickster Djini, finally he came to
the ending of his tale but, before he finished, he looked strongly at me
and then spoke in a loud and clear voice to me alone.

"Tell me, strange one, would you like to try a puzzle from the Djini, I am
sure that one who remains in the dark, even in the brightest of sunlight,
would have little trouble with a simple question?"

I knew he was testing me but I could see no real harm in being polite, they
had, after all, taken us in and treated us like honoured guests, I could
see no harm in playing along, especially as it was a favourite game of the
Bedou.

"I would see no harm in a small game, but tell me, teller of stories, what
would the Djini require if I lost and, what would I gain if I won?"

The old man laughed loudly.

"Aha, see my family, even know he knows how to play the game, it is true,
you should find out first what the Djini is offering, many forget to ask
and pay a heavy price, now let me see, for a win, the Djini will give you
your hearts desire, but, for a loss, you will have to reveal yourself from
the glamour you hide behind."

Was he truly able to see past my glamour, had he been able too he would
have seen my shock at his revelation but I had little choice, we were all
guests of his tribe and I did not want to get on the wrong side of his
people, we were far into the deepest part of the Negev and totally at their
mercy, and my hearts desire, what of that, I had only one wish, and that
was to follow The Thread to my mate, finally I nodded in acceptance to the
old mans challenge.

"Ah, you are a brave one, but then again, your people are not ones to
shrink from a task, are they?"

It was then I knew he knew who I was; there was little I could do now but
go on with his challenge.

Of the many men and boys around us, none knew what the old man spoke of,
only my own boys now understood what was going on, they all stayed alert
and ready to defend me to the last, even though it would be our end as we
were well out numbered.

"Ask your puzzle, and I will do my best, our bargain with the Djini stands
as spoken."

"Ah, you are indeed and honourable and brave boy, very good, here is the
puzzle. What animal walks on four legs in the dawn, two legs at midday and
three legs at dusk, answer correctly and your hearts desire will be yours?"

"And if my answer is wrong then you will have your revelation." I smiled as
I answered him; the old man laughed and clapped his lined and worn old
hands as he nodded his head vigorously in agreement.

For some time I worked on the puzzle as those around me sat and waited
patiently, no one tried to help or interrupt my thinking, after some time I
still had no answer, the old man had come up with a puzzle that seemed to
have no answer, I had to accept defeat and pay my price to the Djini, with
my acceptance of defeat, I spoke to the old story teller.

"You are a master of stories and puzzles, I must admit I can see no clear
answer and will honour the contract with the Djini, but, before I do I
would ask you for the name of the animal that has so many legs so that we
can all see that it is not just a puzzle without an answer?"

"Of course, young one, the Djini would never ask a question that has no
answer, even though he is a trickster, the answer is, Man."

"Man?"

"Yes, think about it, at the dawn of a mans life he crawls on his hands and
knees, in the middle years when he is older, he walks upright upon his two
legs, when he is old and infirm, he uses a cane to steady his faltering
steps, therefore his third leg."

I could do only the same as every other person in the tent, young and old
alike, we all broke into loud laughter at the old story tellers revelation
of the great puzzle.

"Now young one, you must pay the Djini."

I nodded my head, it was a fair deal and I had lost honestly, I rose and
stepped into the centre of the tent where the meal had been cleared
silently some little time before, with a pass of my hand, I stopped the
glamour, then to show that there were no hard feelings or any more secrets
from these wild desert people who had shared everything with us, I threw
back the hood of my cloak and pulled my long hair from hiding, brushing it
back from my shoulders so they could see who I truly was.

I heard the gasps and mutterings of the massed men and boys but, it was the
now strong voice of the old story teller that brought instant quiet to the
tent and my revelation that an Elf stood before them, although their
interpretation had made me instantly into a Djini because of my pointed
ears, there were soft whispers from most of the children as they looked at
me, most were wondering if I could make magic just like the Djini, I did
not think that just then was a good time to tell them yes.

One of the men stood and came closer, Peitro was immediately by my side
with a threatening look in his young eyes as the man approached me, his
usually covered face was now free of the veil they used, he was a man in
his middle years and was the leader of the caravan, he raised his empty
hands so that Peitro could see he meant no harm at this stage as he peered
deeply into my eyes and then, looked me over from head to foot, the old man
spoke once again.

"No need to fear him, my eldest son, he is not a Djini, although he has
magic far beyond that which is spoken of Djini, my family, my sons and
grandsons, before you is the figure of the ElVIn people of the far north,
this boy is a Mage of the highest order, tell me Mage Elf, why would you be
journeying so far south of your home?"

"Grandfather, I seek and follow the Thread, my mate awaits me somewhere to
the south, if you know of us then you also know of the pull of the Thread
to our kind."

"I do indeed, you have nothing to fear from us, you and your companions are
as welcome here as family, you have fulfilled a long held desire of this
old man, I have heard many fables of your folk and, ever since my youngest
thoughts I have had the desire to see if your people were real, you have
fulfilled an old mans dream, for that I an eternally grateful, your
presence in the land of the Bedou will always be welcomed."

I was suddenly inundated with questions from the young ones, the elders sat
back and smiled as I tried to answer all the questions fired at me one
after the other, finally, one of the very young looked up at me with
earnest eyes, I looked down at him as he struggled to find the words he
wanted, his dark kohl painted eyes trying to be brave in front of his large
family, I could only smile in encouragement at him.

"Yes little one, what would you ask?"

After some hesitation and uhming and ahing, he said.

"Can you show me some magic, please?"

"What would you like; little one?"

The small boy looked around hesitantly, his nervousness showing as he
tapped his small bare feet on the floor mats of thick wool.

"Can...can I have some pomegranate?"

I looked over to the old man, I had no idea what the boy was asking for,
the old man then went on to explain what the fruit was, how it looked and
it tasted, it was a rare and valuable fruit that the boys would very rarely
get but they loved its sweet flavour, it was only given as a special treat
on certain name days, to the small boys, in fact all boys, it was a gift
far above gold itself.

I made sure that the old man described the fruit to its fullest, it would
not do to give the boys a mouth full of salt by mistake, after I was sure
of what he asked, I dug my right hand deep into the still warm sand, with
my left I began the ritual of calling up the food, I did not tell the old
man I had been inside his head to get the full description of the
Pomegranate, although he had a look in his eyes as though he knew something
had gone on without his knowledge.

It took only a few minutes before a large pile of fresh pomegranate were
piled in the middle of the mats, with a whoop of delight, all the young
boys and teens reached for the fruit, the older men sitting back with huge
smiles on their faces watching the antics of their young ones, the leader,
Ben Ahmed Safir, turned to me.

"What would you ask in payment for such a gift, Alexi of the Eleven
people?"

"Your people have already paid for the gift with their honourable
hospitality, Ben Ahmed Safir, there is no other cost."

Ben Ahmed Safir bowed to me and made a gesture with his hand, first to his
chest, then his lips and finally his forehead and ending with a sweeping
gesture to the side.

"My family is forever in your debt, to see our young ones so happy is a joy
for all of us, my thanks Elvin one, may your journey be safe and fruitful."

I bowed to the man and then sat back where I had been, at this, Ben Ahmed
Safir called for the youngsters to go to their beds, it was not many hours
before we would be travelling again, it had been an eventful day and even
the far off hum of boys voices could not stop my eyes from closing, I was
soon fast asleep as the gentlest of breezes stirred the light sides of the
tent.

That evening, as we prepared for our nights travel, I spied the old story
teller walking from one of the tents; I went over to him and gave him the
customary bow of greeting.

"Ah, young Elvin Mage, what have you to ask this fine evening?"

"I was wondering if you yourself were a Mage, there is no way a mortal man
could see past my glamour?"

The old man laughed and rested his aged hand on my shoulder.

"No, young Alexi, I did not see past your glamour and that is what gave you
away, too my knowledge there is only one people that have the power of the
creator to use a glamour, in my society I am a true Vizier, a carrier of
limited magic but only for what pertains to my life in the desert, the fact
I could not see past your glamour told me that you had to be of the Elvin
people of the north, only they could do what you do."

"A Vizier, so a Vizier is magical as well, but what about the Pharaohs
Vizier why did he not see my glamour?"

"Ha, that man is no Vizier, he is a charlatan, his mother was a she camel
and his father was a Jackal, he uses his title to frighten his underlings,
out here in the great Negev he would not survive a single day, that is why
he will not chase us out here and, it is why you are safe from his
machinations, let him try to explain your disappearance to his great
Pharaoh now, perhaps he has already lost his head, that would be a fitting
justice for the man."

I could only laugh along at his description of the said Vizier of the
Pharaoh, he was long gone and now we had only the southern lands to head
for, my mate waited and I was feeling the strength of the Threads pull grow
each day, some days I would awake and there would be the sticky emissions
from my boyhood that came during my sleeping hours, I was sure the other
boys knew about my accidents but they said nothing, the harder the Thread
pulled, the more often I had emissions, while it was embarrassing, it was
also heady.

On the second morning as we got ready to set camp for the day, I could see
in the far distance, by the use of the Elvin sight, a darker line that
stretched from horizon to horizon, it was towards this dark line that we
made our way and; five days later, we stood under the towering red sand
stone cliffs of an escarpment, in front of us was a wide defile but too
either side the escarpment stretched unbroken as far as the eye could see
and my eyes could see a long way.

We set camp at the mouth of the defile, its interior looked cooler and the
little shade in there was inviting but Ben Ahmed Safir said it was bad luck
to camp inside the gates of the Great Rift, we therefore stayed outside and
would venture inside on the evenings travel, once inside and far from the
gate we would be safe to camp as long as we could not see the gateway
itself, from then on we would travel only during the daylight hours, it was
too dangerous to travel at night in the Great Rift, it was said to be the
home of more than one Djini and not all of them were friendly.

After we had camped outside the gates, the move in the evening went
quickly, before sunrise, Ben Ahmed Safir called a halt and the tents were
erected, he said we would stay in this camp for three days as there was a
spring nearby and grass for the animals close by, it would give us all a
chance to rest from the rigors of continuous night travel.

The chance to rest and recover was welcomed by us all, the boys took the
chance to practice once again and hone their skills further, it was during
the evening meal on the second day that the old man once again told his
stories, he then led the younger ones in a puzzle game of which he was very
good, there were few of the young ones that could answer his questions, as
the group was breaking up for the night, he approached me and sat next to
where I was idling.

"So, young Elf, are you ready for the trip through the Great Rift?"

"Yes, I think I am now, after this rest I feel much more alert."

"Good, good, you will need to be, this place is not only known for its
Djini, there are also our cousins, the Toureg, they are also desert people
and many are related to us in one way or another but, they are bandits,
very dangerous and very skilled, you may have to look to your magic if they
attack, but, just in case you are unable to use magic, I thought you may
like to take this with you."

So saying, he offered me a large curved knife set in a very ornate
scabbard, the handle was large and fitted with bright gem stones, I looked
at it and began to refuse the offer, its size was one thing but I could
also see it was very valuable.

"I can't accept such a gift; it is far to valuable for the likes of me."

"Nonsense young man, it belonged to my first born son, he would want it to
go to a special person, we lost him to the bandits in this very Rift, I
would deem it a special favour if you would accept."

I was about to object again when he raised his hand.

"I know what you are going too say, my son Ben Ahmed Safir has already
given his blessing for you to carry this knife, he would not wear it in
honour of his older brother but he would like you too have it, it is best
if it is carried by one who is worthy."

I knew then I could not refuse as it might cause disrespect to his sons
memory, I gratefully took the large knife and as he placed it in my hands,
a strange feeling came over me, it was as though the knife had heated
slightly, to my way of thinking, this knife had a hidden power, perhaps the
soul of the son was instilled within it, I tucked in under my cloak, its
weight suddenly gave me a very safe feeling.

As the old man left the communal tent, he patted me on the shoulder and
smiled, I had a funny feeling there was more to this old man than what we
had seen so far.

As the sun rose the next morning, the camp became a hive of activity, the
tents were quickly broken down and the camels loaded, within one hour of
sunrise we were under way into the depths of the Great Rift, the sides were
high and steep and, as we progressed deeper, it became narrower until there
was space only for three riders abreast, it would stay this way for some
two days, I was told.

The most dangerous time would be as we came near the exit of the Rift where
it widened out onto the great salt flats, it was usually here that the
Toureg would lie in wait for caravans and lone travellers, the closer we
moved towards the exit of the Rift, the more nervous the caravan became.

On the last night in the Rift, I asked Ben Ahmed Safir if he would accept
my archers as extra soldiers for his caravan, they would go ahead and set a
guard near the exit and wait until we caught up, at first he was unsure
until we put on a display for him of the advantages of our longer bows and
the accuracy of the boy archers.

The common bow of the caravan guards were made short for them to use from
horse or camel back, our longer bows were not only longer ranged but far
more accurate, it took little to convince him of the soundness of the
tactic, so, in the last darkness, just before the first light of dawn broke
the sky, twelve of the archers went silently forward, Gregor had told them
to be as quick as they could and find places to hide up as high as they
could climb safely, they were then to watch and wait until the caravan had
passed and rejoin if all was safe.

The twelve boys took off at a steady silent trot, their footsteps muffled
in the soft sand of the bottom of the Rift, their bows were held at the
ready as they fanned out to either side of the Rift and disappeared into
the darkness, when the boys had disappeared, Ben Ahmed Safir gave me one of
his bows and gestures as he went to see to his own men, as he left I heard
a whisper in my ear, it was Peitro.

"I have a feeling all is not right up front, I'm going to go after the
others and keep watch, Gregor knows already, if anything is wrong I will
run back and warn you all."

With that, little Peitro disappeared into the dark towards where the
archers had gone, for a small boy he was very brave as he was now all alone
in the dark of the desert until he caught up with the archers, he had also
awakened something deep in my breast, I too now felt something was not
right, there was a tension in the air that had not been there the day
before.

As the first rays lit the sky, the caravan fully awoke and everyone began
to stir and break camp as the women prepared the morning meal of dates and
dried meat with goats cheese, a quick and simple meal, less than one hour
after sun rise we were moving towards the exit of the Rift, with all the
animals and the large caravan, it would take a number of hours before we
came into sight of the exit as we moved a lot slower than the boys had.

In the van of the caravan rode some twenty bowmen on camel back, behind
them were more bowmen on horse back, the rest of the guards trailed further
back and intermingled with the caravan animals with a larger force of mixed
swordsmen and archers at the rear to protect the tail, Gregor and the rest
of our boys were about half way along the caravan, two of the swords men
were by my side and refused to leave me alone for a minute.

Finally we came to the last bend, as we moved towards the distant exit, a
large body of horse mounted men, dressed in black, began to fill the Rift
from one side to the other, their horses were covered in a colourful
blanket that had a number of coloured tassels around the edges, the bridles
were also adorned with the same brightly coloured tassels, the men on horse
back looked much like the men of the caravan in that they were covered from
head to foot with only their eyes showing through the narrow slit of their
headwear.

A loud shout from Ben Ahmed Safir brought an immediate response from his
guards; the camels of the women were surrounded in a ring of protection,
the bowmen on the camels pulled their bows ready and the horsemen moved up
closer, I could not count the enemy as they were now moving at a faster
rate towards us.

I was beginning to worry about the boy archers as I had not seen any sign
of them, even little Peitro had not appeared, my fear for them was starting
to grow as the enemy got nearer and nearer, the thunder of their hooves
began to fill the Rift as they increased their speed.

It happened so quickly that even we were taken by surprise, from high up on
the edges of the Rift walls came a shower of long arrows just as the enemy
was coming into the range of our own bowmen, twelve saddles were emptied
before even the Toureg knew what had happened, by the time they worked out
that they were under attack from on high, the second volley fell on them,
twelve more saddles emptied and still the archers were unseen.

I tried to scan the sides of the Rift walls for sight of the boys but could
see nothing but the third volley of arrows in the air but I could work out
that they had placed six boys on each side so that the enemy was hit from
two sides at the same time and so confusing the attackers as to which
direction the attack came from.

The charge slowed as more saddles were emptied by the unseen archers, it
was now the turn of Ben Ahmed Safir's guards to take the attack to the
enemy, the air was soon filled with showers of the shorter arrows as the
camel and horse guards sent their own volleys into the massed ranks of the
enemy, the charge broke, and soon the attack petered out as we watched the
survivors try to make their escape with the horse guards in close pursuit.

As the chasers disappeared through the exit and onto the open ground
beyond, the twelve boys appeared from their hiding places high up on the
sides of the Rift, each boy, once he was at the bottom, went around to
collect their used arrows from the bodies of the dead, Peitro quickly made
his way to where Gregor sat on his horse, Ben Ahmed Safir and his guards
checked to see if any still survived, only one did.

The lone survivor of the ambush was dragged to where Ben Ahmed Safir sat on
his black horse at the head of his guards, out of interest, I moved closer
to watch and listen to the exchange, the man was quite young, not much more
than a teen, his left arm was still bleeding from the shaft that stuck from
his shoulder.

Ben Ahmed Safir showed little mercy for the young Toureg, drawing his own
curved sword, he slashed downward and removed the boys head from his
shoulders, his limp body was left to the Jackals as the others would be,
with little regard for the fallen, Ben Ahmed Safir called for the caravan
to continue on its way, the terror of the salt flats would wait for no man,
alive or dead.

Ben Ahmed Safir called a halt early in the afternoon, the animals would
need an extra watering and feeding before we tackled the forbidding salt
flats, once we entered them we would not be able to stop and we had to be
most of the way across before the sun rose the next morning, as it was we
would be on the flats for at least two hours after sun rise so we would
have to make as much haste during the night as we could, any man lost on
the flats could not be waited on.

During the final watering and feeding, every canopy and every cargo rig was
checked and tested, the women were told to stay together and the smaller
children were put with the women to be guarded and stopped from wandering
off during the night, the caravan would not be stretched out like it
normally was during the trip, this time it would be kept close together and
each person was to watch for the man next too him.

As the last hour of daylight approached, Ben Ahmed Safir gave the order to
move onto the salt flats, we still had about an hour of light left but the
heat was already leaving the air and the cold of the desert night was
moving in as the first camels stepped onto the coarse salt flats, our
journey of danger had begun, there was to be no second chance on these
flats.



TBC.



Artcart65@vodafone.co.nz