Master Of The Hashomi

Chapter 22

The warehouse burned all night, clearly visible from the walls of the Baran's palace. There was nothing to be done about it except keep the flames from spreading.

By dawn the fire was out and men black with soot were pouring buckets of water on the last smoldering ashes and blackened timbers. By dawn the Baran's men had also added up the score of their night's work, and Giraz was reading it off to the Baran and to Richard Blade.

«Of the Council of Twelve, eight are dead, four are our prisoners. Five other Thieves were also taken. We do not know precisely how many were present, since-«

The Baran nodded impatiently. «Yes, yes, Giraz. We know what happened to the bodies. Please-consider that none of us has had any sleep, and we have had a rather busy night in addition. Save the fine detail for your formal report, and for now be brief.»

«Very good, my lord. As I said, we took five lesser Thieves. Six Hashomi were known to be present, and I believe they all perished. As for the Fighters of Junah-«Giraz swallowed and seemed to be hesitating.

The Baran sighed. «Bad news will grow no better with waiting, Giraz.»

«Yes, my lord. We took two of the leaders among the Fighters. We have interrogated them, and one has begun to answer questions.» Blade couldn't help wondering what had been done, to break one of the dedicated Fighters of Junah so quickly. He decided he didn't really want to know.

«The man who spoke said five other leaders of the Fighters died in the fighting. One was the First Lord of the Warriors, their military commander. Another was their leading priest. The others-«

«I see,» said the Baran. «That is not good.»

Blade felt that remark needed explaining. «Why is that so, my lord? It seems to me that we have done extremely well. We have not only destroyed the leadership of the Thieves Guild, we have badly hurt the Fighters of Junah.»

«Yes,» said the Baran. «And by doing so, we may have made open war against them inevitable. Even now they may be planning to take to the streets, swords in their hands. How many people will die from this night's work, who might otherwise have lived?»

Blade took a deep breath. The Baran had given him the perfect opening, and now he intended to do everything he could with it. The job of saving Dahaura wasn't over yet!

«That depends on how we deal with the Fighters of Junah,» he said. «If we give them a chance, they may indeed decide to launch the war the Baran fears. But if we take the offensive, then-«

«How can we take the offensive?» interrupted the Baran. «We do not really have enough men to pry the Fighters of Junah out of every hole and corner in Dahaura and the other cities.»

«I was not thinking of calling out the army against the Fighters of Junah,» replied Blade. «At least not immediately. Against the Thieves, yes-they must be rooted out, at once. But not against the Fighters. I think the first move in our offensive against the Fighters of Junah should be a proclamation.»

«A proclamation?» said the Baran. He seemed to be interested but confused.

«Yes,» said Blade. «A proclamation that they are outlaws. Any found within-oh, let us say, all the large cities or towns and the lands around them-after five days will be killed on sight «

The Baran sighed. «Blade, you obviously have some plan for dealing with the Fighters. I will say to you what I said to Giraz-it has been a long night and we are all tired. Speak briefly.»

«I will do so, my lord. If Giraz will get me a map-«

Blade unrolled the map the eunuch gave him on the floor and the other two stood over him while he crouched and explained his plan.

The Fighters of Junah should be driven out of the large cities of the Baran's proclamation. Nobody should attempt to stop them-in fact, they should be encouraged to leave. After that they should be driven west, toward the edge of the desert.

«We can use rumors, small shows of force, anything necessary to do this,» said Blade. «But we may not have to do anything at all. They move west of their own free will, in the hope that the Hashomi will cross the desert in force and aid them against you.»

«And this hope will be in vain?» said Giraz. In spite of his fatigue, his red-rimmed eyes were fixed on Blade and the nostrils of his thin nose were quivering like those of a hound on the scent. Giraz loved a subtle-plot the way some men loved fine wine.

«Exactly,» said Blade. «We are strike at the allies of the Hashomi before the Master expected to have to move. There is a very good chance that the Master will not move at all.»

«Why should the Fighters not know this too?» said the Baran.

«I think the Fighters of Junah would not have gone as far as they have if they didn't expect the Hashomi to come to their aid any time they needed help.

«So we will have the Fighters of Junah assembled in the west, waiting for the Hashomi who will not come. Meanwhile, you assemble your army, and when the Fighters of Junah have waited long enough to grow weary, you strike. You can fight them in the open fields, not in the streets of all your cities. The only people in danger will be your soldiers.»

«Too much danger, perhaps,» said the Baran. «Will they be able to defeat the Fighters of Junah, massed for battle?»

«Yes,» said Giraz. «My lord, do not be misled by the name 'Fighters of Junah.' They have indeed trained some of their people to be strong in battle, but not all. If a hundred thousand Fighters of Junah were to gather in the west, ten or fifteen thousand of them might be good soldiers. The rest-«He shrugged. «Your army will scatter them like cats sweeping aside an army of mice.»

«If this is so-«said the Baran, stroking his mustache as he often did when he was wrestling with a difficult decision. «If this is so-«

«It is,» said Giraz. «And, my lord, with all due respect, Blade will tell us of his plan much more swiftly if you do not constantly interrupt him.»

The Baran stared at the eunuch for a moment, took a deep breath as if he wanted to explode with rage, then smiled and let the breath out in a long sigh. «Blade, you are setting an example for my councilors. You are making them all as sharp-tongued and plain-spoken as yourself. This may turn out to be your greatest service to Dahaura, whether I like it or not. Giraz is right. Continue.»

Blade sketched out the rest of his plan quickly. The Baran's army should march against the assembled Fighters of Junah and defeat them in a pitched battle in the open field. Then the Baran should issue another proclamation. All those Fighters of Junah who lay down their arms and surrender by a certain date will have a free pardon. All those who volunteer to march with the Baran against the Valley of the Hashomi will receive land and the right to practice their faith.

«I think you will get many volunteers,» said Blade. «The Fighters will suspect that the Hashomi betrayed them, and they should be wild for vengeance.

«Then you take your army across the desert and through the mountains to the Valley of the Hashomi. I have no real plans for what to do then. There may be nothing to do except fight, and go on fighting until all the Hashomi are dead. That will be a long and bloody battle, but when it is over the Hashomi will never again be a danger to Dahaura, not in the time of your children's children's children.»

«A very pretty speech, Blade,» said the Baran, yawning. «And a plan almost as pretty. I can see points where I must ask you more, but not now. We shall go ahead with the destruction of the Thieves, and when that is done we shall talk of your plan again. If we use it, and if it works-Blade, would you like to be the Hand of the Baran for the Valley of the Hashomi, when we have conquered it?»

Blade was pleasantly surprised. He'd known he was high in the Baran's favor, but not this high. A Hand of the Baran was the viceroy for a large province or a wealthy city, answerable only to the Baran himself. The position carried with it the highest rank among the nobility of Dahaura, if the man didn't have that rank already. He usually did. Hands of the Baran were normally chosen from those families who'd been high-ranking nobles for two centuries. For Blade to be given such an appointment would create a sensation.

He said as much, and the Baran smiled. «That is as may be. Those of the old nobles who have served me as well as you have-I will listen to what they may say. The rest can be silent.»

The Baran yawned, stretched, rose shakily to his feet, and yawned again. «Now-no more talk until we have all slept. Right now I think I might fall asleep in my bath and drown before the women could pull me out!» He waved to Blade and Giraz, dismissing them, and wobbled out of the room.

While the Baran and his chief servants slept, the fighting men of Dahaura moved against the Thieves Guild. They had the aid of every armed man the Brothel Keepers could assemble, led by Kubin Ben Sarif himself. The doctor who'd insisted on keeping Kubin in bed was seized by four strong men and bound to the bed himself. He wasn't hurt, just made uncomfortable enough to make him watch his words in the future. Then Kubin went out to join the fighting.

The fighting was short but savage. The Council of Twelve was gone and many of the Thieves' planned hiding places turned out to be traps filled with the Baran's men. The Thieves died with the stubborn fury of cornered rats, but they still died. In two days the six major cities of the Baranate were clear of Thieves. In two more days there wasn't a Thief alive and free anywhere the Baran's authority could reach. A few had probably disguised themselves and fled to isolated villages or an animal-like existence in the swamps and forests. They would be no danger to anyone.

The Thieves would have swiftly become a danger, though, if the Baran hadn't struck when he did. Several of the secret storehouses of the Thieves turned out to contain quantities of Hashomi drugs-more than a ton altogether. That by itself was enough to spread chaos in Dahaura.

Two weeks after the raid on the warehouse, the Baran's proclamation was read in all the cities and towns of Dahaura. Within ten days, all men belonging to the so-called Fighters of Junah were to leave every place where this proclamation was being read and go elsewhere. Those who did not would be publicly executed without trial. A list of the crimes of the Fighters of Junah followed, not mentioning the Hashomi but hinting at the drugs.

«That will make sure people are ready to help drive the Fighters out, or turn in those who stay,» said Blade. «It won't get people ready to tear the Fighters apart, or burn the women and children alive in their houses-I hope.»

Then the Baran ordered the Desert Riders withdrawn from the desert into the more settled lands of Dahaura, and waited.

Pulling back the Riders was another idea of Blade's. «If we leave them in position, the Hashomi will have an excuse for not coming to aid the Fighters of Junah. They will say that the Desert Riders were too strong for them. Many of the Fighters might believe this.

«But if we leave the Hashomi a clear desert, there will be nothing to keep them from coming except their own refusal to do so. All the Fighters of Junah will then know that the Hashomi have not kept their promises, and can no longer be trusted.»

The Baran shook his head, «Blade, did you ever consider joining the Hashomi in their struggle against Dahaura?»

«No. By the time I knew that I would have to take sides at all, I knew that I would be with you. The Hashomi plan nothing that any sane man can wish to see done.»

«I am very grateful to Junah that your eyes were opened so soon and so well. You would have been a more dangerous enemy to Dahaura than I care to think about. As it is, you have already earned my gratitude and more rewards than it is in my power to give you. You will have an honored name in Dahaura's history even if your horse stumbles tomorrow and you break your neck.»

Blade couldn't help wondering if the Baran might be considering arranging such an accident, to save himself the trouble of giving Blade all his promised rewards. That was always possible, in a land, so filled with intrigue as Dahaura. It did not seem very likely, given the Baran's character, and in any case it would hardly be tactful to raise the point.

So Blade only said, «Thank you,» and reached for more beer.

The Fighters of Junah poured out of the cities like rats leaving a sinking ship, and scattered in a dozen different directions. Shortly they found themselves being herded west by carefully planted rumors, by the Baran's cavalry patrols; and by the outraged farmers of the lands to the east. Those who didn't move in the right direction were often lynched by the farmers, or driven into forests and swamps to starve along with the Thieves.

Day after day the reports came in of the Fighters gathering in the west, and day after day the Baran assembled his army. He was going to lead west every man not needed to defend the walls of the city and maintain law and order within them nearly eighty thousand altogether. It was the greatest army in the history of Dahaura, and the battle when it met the Fighters of Junah would be the greatest battle.

In the end, though, there was no battle. The Fighters of Junah gathered in the west, nearly a hundred thousand of them. At first they were able to live precariously by stealing cattle and crops, catching fish, and picking nuts and berries. A hundred thousand men could not live long that way, and hunger came swiftly. After hunger came fear and despair. The Hashomi did not come at all.

Now the reports that reached Blade day after day told of men drifting away from the Army of the Fighters. They were turning themselves in to the Baran's garrison or the local population, willing to do almost anything to be fed.

Then the Baran issued his second proclamation, with its pardon for those Fighters who surrendered, and led his army west. Blade rode with him, hoping that nothing would happen to give the Baran a chance to rush into danger once more.

Nothing did. Most of the «campaign» against the Fighters of Junah was about as dangerous as rounding up cattle. The trained warriors among the Fighters seldom surrendered, but they were too scattered to be really dangerous. The largest number found in one place was only two thousand, and the Desert Riders broke them in a single bloody charge. On that day the Baran was thirty miles away, talking with some of the leaders among the Fighters who'd surrendered.

He mentioned the offer of land and free worship for those Fighters who marched with him against the Hashomi. Even Blade was surprised at the response. The prisoners were almost incoherent with rage against the Hashomi and, above all, against the Master. They hadn't seen a single Hashom lifting a finger to help them since the night of the warehouse raid. What would that mean, but that the Master had only been playing with them? They'd played along with him, and now the blood of thousands of their followers was on the Master's hands.

They did not love the Baran or the Children of Junah even now. But they hated the Master of the Hashomi savagely and completely. Certainly they would march against him with the Baran, who treated them like men and not like puppets.

So much for the Fighters of Junah. After centuries of opposition to the Baranate, Blade's strategy had swept away their menace in a few weeks.

The Hashomi were going to be a more difficult proposition. As Blade said, «As far as I know there is only one route into the Valley that an army can use. The Hashomi can defend it until they are all dead, and perhaps ten thousand of your men as well. There is no certain way to avoid that, but I have a plan that gives us some hope. I am assuming that the valley people are not too happy with the rule of the Hashomi, and that the Hashomi themselves may be somewhat shaken by the collapse of the Master's strategy. If this is correct, then we may look to find allies in the valley.»

Blade explained briefly, with the help of a map he'd sketched of the Valley of the Hashomi. The Baran followed him appreciatively.

«I will need only three or four hundred men, but they'll have to be picked fighters, the best soldiers and the best of the Eyes. In fact, I think that the whole army going to the valley ought to be picked men. Many of your soldiers are brave, but the Hashomi could still slaughter them like wolves killing sheep.»

«I'd thought as much,» said the Baran. «I've already given the orders to limit our invading army to twenty thousand men, plus five thousand of the Fighters of Junah. I'll also put Giraz under your orders as second-in-command. From your plan, it sounds as if you might not live through it even if everything goes well.»

«I may not,» said Blade. «In fact, I'm not sure that any of my people will be coming back from this one. But it's going to be worth it. It will save your soldiers' lives, and it may help the people of the valley. Once the Hashomi are dead, we have no quarrel with those they have ruled so harshly for so long.»

«Want to leave as many of your future subjects alive as you can, eh, Blade?» said the Baran.

«Why not?» said Blade. «I don't want to rule a desert, either for myself or for you.»

Blade was busy during the next few days, picking the men of his force and conferring with Giraz. He also found time to marry Esseta.

It seemed a good idea. Even if he got back alive from the invasion of the Valley of the Hashomi, he would sooner or later be returning to Home Dimension. Then what would happen to Esseta? She had the Baran's favor and her own money, but the favor might be withdrawn at any time and her money would not last forever. She could rely on Kubin Ben Sarif for as much help as he could give, but Kubin was well past fifty. He would not always be around to help her.

On the other hand, as the widow of one of the Baran's most distinguished officers, she would be in a much better situation. She would have legal and social rights that no one could question. She would also inherit Blade's property, and that was a real fortune. The Baran had been giving him estates and villas with a lavish hand. As Blade's widow, Esseta would be one of the richest women in Dahaura.

In spite of all these obvious arguments in favor of the idea, Blade had quite a job persuading Esseta. Her first reaction was, «Blade, you've lost your mind! Did you get hit on the head in that warehouse fight?» She went on from there, less outspoken, but no less stubborn, for several days.

«Blade,» she said at last. «Do you realize who-or what-you're marrying? Do you realize that I cannot be the kind of wife you deserve, the kind of wife to stand beside you in the high circles of the Baran's court? You will be moving in those circles, although you don't seem to realize it.»

«If I return from the Valley of the Hashomi,» put in Blade.

She shook her head angrily, but at the same time there were tears in her eyes. «Blade, I am what I am, and I cannot be otherwise. What I am is-«

«The woman I am going to marry,» he said calmly.

Esseta looked as if she wanted to tear out either Blade's hair or her own in sheer frustration. While she struggled with her feelings, Blade went on. «Apart from everything else, I am not so sure that you cannot change. I have seen far stranger and less likely things happen to both men and women during my travels. I will not accept that argument as a reason for not marrying me. I will listen to only one reason-that you do not care for me, Richard Blade; the man, and want me out of your sight.»

At that point Esseta burst into tears and collapsed on Blade's shoulder. He held her gently, while she murmured over and over again, «I cannot tell that lie. I cannot tell that lie.»

«Very good,» said Blade at last. «Then don't. We should go to the Baran and ask his permission. As a Demad of his household, I'll need it.»

The Baran not only gave his permission, he offered to sponsor the bride in place of the father she'd never known. The other sponsor was Kubin Ben Sarif, and the principal witness was Giraz. Esseta looked her age on the day of the wedding, no one would have mistaken her for a young girl. But she was as nervous and blushing as any seventeen year-old virgin bride.

It was almost a pity, Blade thought, that there would be no long marriage for them. A man could do worse than marry an honest whore like Esseta, in this Dimension or any other. She did not have «a heart of gold,» but she had a cool head and a clear eye, which were far more important.

Kubin Ben Sarif was shaking his head sadly as Blade led Esseta away from the altar of Junah. «Now I've seen everything,» he said. «My golden girl, a bride to this mighty man from nowhere.» He slapped Blade on the shoulder. «I'm glad for you both. She'll need someone to take care of her, now that I'm getting old.»

Esseta's eyebrows rose in her old impish manner. «Old? Kubin, there are a dozen women I could name who would swear that you lied. There is-«

Kubin laughed and held up a hand to stop her. «Enough, enough. Junah be with you, Blade, and bring you back from the valley. You've been the best of my servants. Now I'd like to have you as a good friend.»

I also wish that could be, thought Blade. But it cannot. Silently he shook Kubin's hand, and led Esseta out of the temple.

The next day the Baran's army marched west, toward the desert, the mountains, and the Valley of the Hashomi.